Stable and soluble antibodies

ABSTRACT

The invention provides antibodies that are modified to reduce aggregration propensity, and methods of producing such antibodies. The present invention also provides particularly stable and soluble scFv antibodies and Fab fragments specific for TNF, which comprise specific light chain and heavy chain sequences that are optimized for stability, solubility, in vitro and in vivo binding of TNF, and low immunogenicity. The nucleic acids, vectors and host cells for expression of the recombinant antibodies of the invention, methods for isolating them and the use of said antibodies in medicine are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Nos. 61/405,798 filed Oct. 22, 2010, and61/484,749 filed May 11, 2011 the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to methods of reducing aggregation propensity ofantibodies, and antibodies that are modified to reduce aggregrationpropensity. The invention also relates to antibodies that bind tumornecrosis factor alpha (TNFα). In particular, the invention relates tostable and soluble antibodies comprising an aggregation-reducingmodification, including scFv antibodies and Fab fragments, whichcomprise specific light chain and heavy chain sequences that areoptimized for stability, solubility, and low immunogenicity. Inaddition, the invention relates to methods for the diagnosis and/ortreatment of TNF-mediated disorders.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα, also known as cachectin), is anaturally occurring mammalian cytokine produced by numerous cell types,including monocytes and macrophages in response to endotoxin or otherstimuli. TNFα is a major mediator of inflammatory, immunological, andpathophysiological reactions (Grell, M., et al. (1995) Cell, 83:793-802).

Soluble TNFα is formed by the cleavage of a precursor transmembraneprotein (Kriegler, et al. (1988) Cell 53: 45-53), and the secreted 17kDa polypeptides assemble to soluble homotrimer complexes (Smith, et al.(1987), J. Biol. Chem. 262: 6951-6954; for reviews of TNFA, see Butler,et al. (1986), Nature 320:584; Old (1986), Science 230: 630). Thesecomplexes then bind to receptors found on a variety of cells. Bindingproduces an array of pro-inflammatory effects, including (i) release ofother pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, andIL-1, (ii) release of matrix metalloproteinases and (iii) up regulationof the expression of endothelial adhesion molecules, further amplifyingthe inflammatory and immune cascade by attracting leukocytes intoextravascular tissues.

A large number of disorders are associated with elevated levels of TNFα,many of them of significant medical importance. TNFα has been shown tobe up-regulated in a number of human diseases, including chronicdiseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), inflammatory bowel disordersincluding Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, sepsis, congestiveheart failure, asthma bronchiale and multiple sclerosis. Mice transgenicfor human TNFα produce high levels of TNFα constitutively and develop aspontaneous, destructive polyarthritis resembling RA (Keffer et al.1991, EMBO J., 10, 4025-4031). TNFα is therefore referred to as apro-inflammatory cytokine

TNFα is now well established as key in the pathogenesis of RA, which isa chronic, progressive and debilitating disease characterised bypolyarticular joint inflammation and destruction, with systemic symptomsof fever and malaise and fatigue. RA also leads to chronic synovialinflammation, with frequent progression to articular cartilage and bonedestruction. Increased levels of TNFα are found in both the synovialfluid and peripheral blood of patients suffering from RA. When TNFαblocking agents are administered to patients suffering from RA, theyreduce inflammation, improve symptoms and retard joint damage (McKown etal. (1999), Arthritis Rheum. 42:1204-1208).

Physiologically, TNFα is also associated with protection from particularinfections (Cerami. et al. (1988), Immunol. Today 9:28). TNFα isreleased by macrophages that have been activated by lipopolysaccharidesof Gram-negative bacteria. As such, TNFα appears to be an endogenousmediator of central importance involved in the development andpathogenesis of endotoxic shock associated with bacterial sepsis(Michie, et al. (1989), Br. J. Surg.76:670-671; Debets. et al. (1989),Second Vienna Shock Forum, p. 463-466; Simpson, et al. (1989) Crit. CareClin. 5: 27-47; Waage et al. (1987). Lancet 1: 355-357; Hammerle. et al.(1989) Second Vienna Shock Forum p. 715-718; Debets. et al. (1989),Crit. Care Med. 17:489-497; Calandra. et al. (1990), J. Infect. Dis.161:982-987; Revhaug et al. (1988), Arch. Surg. 123:162-170).

As with other organ systems, TNFα has also been shown to play a key rolein the central nervous system, in particular in inflammatory andautoimmune disorders of the nervous system, including multiplesclerosis, Guillain-Barre syndrome and myasthenia gravis, and indegenerative disorders of the nervous system, including Alzheimer'sdisease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. TNFα is alsoinvolved in disorders of related systems of the retina and of muscle,including optic neuritis, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy,dermatomyositis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and muscular dystrophy,as well as in injuries to the nervous system, including traumatic braininjury, acute spinal cord injury, and stroke.

Hepatitis is another TNFα-related inflammatory disorder which amongother triggers can be caused by viral infections, includingEpstein-Barr, cytomegalovirus, and hepatitis A-E viruses. Hepatitiscauses acute liver inflammation in the portal and lobular region,followed by fibrosis and tumor progression. TNFα can also mediatecachexia in cancer, which causes most cancer morbidity and mortality(Tisdale M. J. (2004), Langenbecks Arch Surg. 389:299-305).

The key role played by TNFα in inflammation, cellular immune responsesand the pathology of many diseases has led to the search for antagonistsof TNFα. One class of TNFα antagonists designed for the treatment ofTNFα-mediated diseases are antibodies or antibody fragments thatspecifically bind TNFα and thereby block its function. The use ofanti-TNFα antibodies has shown that a blockade of TNFα can reverseeffects attributed to TNFα including decreases in IL-1, GM-CSF, IL-6,IL-8, adhesion molecules and tissue destruction (Feldmann et al. (1997),Adv. Immunol. 1997:283-350). Among the specific inhibitors of TNFα thathave recently become commercially available include a monoclonal,chimeric mouse-human antibody directed against TNFα (infliximab,Remicade™; Centocor Corporation/Johnson & Johnson) has demonstratedclinical efficacy in the treatment of RA and Crohn's disease. Despitethese advances, there remains a need for new and effective forms ofantibodies or other antibodies for the treatment for TNFα-associateddisorders such as RA. In particular, there is an urgent need forantibodies with optimal functional properties for the effective andcontinuous treatment of arthritis and other TNFα-mediated disorders.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides antibodies comprising at least oneaggregation-reducing mutation and methods for producing such antibodies.

In one aspect, the invention provides a method of reducing thepropensity for aggregation of an antibody, the method comprisingintroducing one or more aggregation-reducing modifications at a residueposition participating in the interface between the variable light chainand the variable heavy chain of an antibody, wherein the substitutionreduces the free energy between the variable light chain and variableheavy chain by at least 0.5 kcal/mol, thereby reducing the aggregrationpropensity of the modified antibody compared with that of a parentalantibody that lacks the aggregaton-reducing modification(s).

In one aspect, a method of the invention comprises introducing one ormore amino acid substitutions in the interface of a variable light chain(VL) and a variable heavy chain (VH) of the antibody, wherein the one ormore substitutions are at residue positions selected to reduce the freeenergy between the VL and VH by at least 10%, thereby reducing theaggregation propensity of the antibody compared with a parentalantibody. In a particular aspect, the sequence of the variable lightchain of the antibody has at least 65% identity to the sequence of SEQID NO: 1. In other aspects, the variable heavy chain sequence has atleast 85% identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 or the sequence ofSEQ ID NO: 4.

In certain aspects, a method of the invention comprises modifying theresidue at AHo position 50 and/or the residue at AHo position 47 in thevariable light chain of an antibody, thereby reducing the aggregationpropensity of the antibody compared with a parental antibody. In otheraspects, the method of the invention further comprises modifyingresidues at AHo position 12, 103, and 144 of the variable heavy chain.

The invention also provides antibodies having reduced propensity foraggregration comprising one or more aggregation-reducing modifications.In certain aspects, an antibody of the invention is a Fab, Fab′, aF(ab)′2, single-chain Fv (scFv), an Fv fragment, or a linear antibody.In other aspects, the invention provides a bispecific or bivalentmolecule comprising an antibody of the invention.

In other aspects, the aggregation-reducing modification is at AHoposition 50 of the variable light chain. In a particular aspect, theaggregation-reducing modification comprises an arginine (R) at AHoposition 50 of the variable light chain. In yet another aspect, theaggregation-reducing modification comprises a substitution of lysine (K)by arginine (R) at AHo position 50 of the variable light chain.

In still other aspects, the aggregation-reducing modification is at AHoposition 47 of the variable light chain. In a particular aspect, theaggregation-reducing modification comprises an arginine (R) at AHoposition 47 of the variable light chain. In yet another aspect, theaggregation-reducing modification comprises a substitution of lysine (K)by arginine (R) at AHo position 47 of the variable light chain.

The invention also provides stable and soluble antibodies specific forTNFα, which comprise specific light chain and heavy chain sequences thatare optimized for stability, solubility, in vitro and in vivo binding ofTNFα, and low immunogenicity. Said antibodies are designed for thediagnosis and/or treatment of TNFα-mediated disorders. The nucleicacids, vectors and host cells for expression of the recombinantantibodies, variable light chains, and variable heavy chains of theinvention, methods for isolating them and the use of said antibodies inmedicine are also disclosed.

The invention also provides methods of treating a TNFα-mediated disordercomprising administering to a subject in need thereof the pharmaceuticalcomposition comprising an anti-TNFα antibody of the invention. Incertain aspects, the TNFalpha-mediated disorder is an ocular disorderselected from the group consisting of uveitis, Bechet's disease,retinitis, dry eye, glaucoma, Sjörgen syndrome, diabetic neuropathy,scleritis, age related macular degeneration and keratitis.

Specific preferred embodiments of the invention will become evident fromthe following more detailed description of certain preferred embodimentsand the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows titration curves of residue positions VL47 (solid lines)and VL50 (dashed lines) in two different scFv molecules, 34rFW1.4(black) and 578rFW1.4 (gray).

FIG. 2A shows stability of 34rFW1.4 under accelerated conditionsdetermined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at 40° C. andusing 60 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 2B shows stability of 34rFW1.4_VLK50R_DHP under acceleratedconditions determined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at40° C. and using 60 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 3A shows stability of 34rFW1.4 under accelerated conditionsdetermined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at 40° C. andusing 40 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 3B shows stability of 34rFW1.4 VLK50R_DHP under acceleratedconditions determined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at40° C. and using 40 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 4A shows stability of 34rFW1.4 under accelerated conditionsdetermined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at 40° C. andusing 20 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 4B shows stability of 34rFW1.4_VLK50R_DHP under acceleratedconditions determined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at40° C. and using 20 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 5A shows stability of 34rFW 1.4 under accelerated conditionsdetermined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at 40° C. andusing 60 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 5B shows stability of 34rFW1.4_VL_K50R under accelerated conditionsdetermined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at 40° C. andusing 60 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 6A shows stability of 34rFW1.4 under accelerated conditionsdetermined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at 40° C. andusing 40 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 6B shows stability of 34rFW1.4_VLK50R under accelerated conditionsdetermined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at 40° C. andusing 40 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 7A shows stability of 34rFW1.4 under accelerated conditionsdetermined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at 40° C. andusing 20 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 7B shows stability of 34rFW1.4_VLK50R under accelerated conditionsdetermined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at 40° C. andusing 20 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 8A shows stability of 34rFW1.4 under accelerated conditionsdetermined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at 40° C. andusing 60 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 8B shows stability of 34rFW1.4_K47R under accelerated conditionsdetermined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at 40° C. andusing 60 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 9A shows stability of 34rFW 1.4 under accelerated conditionsdetermined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at 40° C. andusing 20 mg/ml concentration.

FIG. 9B shows stability of 34rFW1.4_K47R under accelerated conditionsdetermined by SE-HPLC analysis after 2 weeks incubation at 40° C. andusing 20 mg/ml concentration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is a general object of the invention to provide stable and solubleantibodies having reduced propensity for aggregating in solution. In apreferred embodiment said antibody is a scFv antibody or Fab fragment.The antibodies of the invention preferably comprise a light and heavychain as disclosed herein.

The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes ofillustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention only and are presented in the cause of providing what isbelieved to be the most useful and readily understood description of theprinciples and conceptual aspects of various embodiments of theinvention.

In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of theinvention in more detail than is necessary for the fundamentalunderstanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawingsand/or examples making apparent to those skilled in the art how theseveral forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.

In order that the present invention may be more readily understood,certain terms will be defined as follows. Additional definitions are setforth throughout the detailed description. The following definitions andexplanations are meant and intended to be controlling in any futureconstruction unless clearly and unambiguously modified in the followingexamples or when application of the meaning renders any constructionmeaningless or essentially meaningless. In cases where the constructionof the term would render it meaningless or essentially meaningless, thedefinition should be taken from Webster's Dictionary, 3^(rd) Edition ora dictionary known to those of skill in the art, such as the OxfordDictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Ed. Anthony Smith,Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004).

The term “antibody” as used herein includes whole antibodies and anyantigen binding fragment (i.e., “antigen-binding portion,” “antigenbinding polypeptide,” or “immunobinder”) or single chain thereof. An“antibody” includes a glycoprotein comprising at least two heavy (H)chains and two light (L) chains inter-connected by disulfide bonds, oran antigen binding portion thereof. Each heavy chain is comprised of aheavy chain variable region (abbreviated herein as V_(H)) and a heavychain constant region. The heavy chain constant region is comprised ofthree domains, CH1, CH2 and CH3. Each light chain is comprised of alight chain variable region (abbreviated herein as V_(L)) and a lightchain constant region. The light chain constant region is comprised ofone domain, CL. The V_(H) and V_(L) regions can be further subdividedinto regions of hypervariability, termed complementarity determiningregions (CDR), interspersed with regions that are more conserved, termedframework regions (FR). Each V_(H) and V_(L) is composed of three CDRsand four FRs, arranged from amino-terminus to carboxy-terminus in thefollowing order: FR1, CDR1, FR2, CDR2, FR3, CDR3, FR4. The variableregions of the heavy and light chains contain a binding domain thatinteracts with an antigen. The constant regions of the antibodies maymediate the binding of the immunoglobulin to host tissues or factors,including various cells of the immune system (e.g., effector cells) andthe first component (Clq) of the classical complement system.

The term “antigen-binding portion” of an antibody (or simply “antibodyportion”) refers to one or more fragments of an antibody that retain theability to specifically bind to an antigen (e.g., TNF). It has beenshown that the antigen-binding function of an antibody can be performedby fragments of a full-length antibody. Examples of binding fragmentsencompassed within the term “antigen-binding portion” of an antibodyinclude (i) a Fab fragment, a monovalent fragment consisting of theV_(L), V_(H), CL and CH1 domains; (ii) a F(ab′)₂ fragment, a bivalentfragment comprising two Fab fragments linked by a disulfide bridge atthe hinge region; (iii) a Fd fragment consisting of the V_(H) and CH1domains; (iv) a Fv fragment consisting of the V_(L) and V_(H) domains ofa single arm of an antibody, (v) a single domain or dAb fragment (Wardet al., (1989) Nature 341:544-546), which consists of a V_(H) domain;and (vi) an isolated complementarity determining region (CDR) or (vii) acombination of two or more isolated CDRs which may optionally be joinedby a synthetic linker. Furthermore, although the two domains of the Fvfragment, V_(L) and V_(H), are coded for by separate genes, they can bejoined, using recombinant methods, by a synthetic linker that enablesthem to be made as a single protein chain in which the V_(L) and V_(H)regions pair to form monovalent molecules (known as single chain Fv(scFv); see e.g., Bird et al. (1988) Science 242:423-426; and Huston etal. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:5879-5883). Such single chainantibodies are also intended to be encompassed within the term“antigen-binding portion” of an antibody. These antibody fragments areobtained using conventional techniques known to those with skill in theart, and the fragments are screened for utility in the same manner asare intact antibodies. Antigen-binding portions can be produced byrecombinant DNA techniques, or by enzymatic or chemical cleavage ofintact immunoglobulins. Antibodies can be of different isotype, forexample, an IgG (e.g., an IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, or IgG4 subtype), IgA1,IgA2, IgD, IgE, or IgM antibody.

The term “frameworks” refers to the art recognized portions of anantibody variable region that exist between the more divergent CDRregions. Such framework regions are typically referred to as frameworks1 through 4 (FR1, FR2, FR3, and FR4) and provide a scaffold for holding,in three-dimensional space, the three CDRs found in a heavy or lightchain antibody variable region, such that the CDRs can form anantigen-binding surface. Such frameworks can also be referred to asscaffolds as they provide support for the presentation of the moredivergent CDRs. Other CDRs and frameworks of the immunoglobulinsuperfamily, such as ankyrin repeats and fibronectin, can be used asantigen binding molecules (see also, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos.6,300,064, 6,815,540 and U.S. Pub. No. 20040132028).

The term “epitope” or “antigenic determinant” refers to a site on anantigen to which an immunoglobulin or antibody specifically binds (e.g.,TNF). An epitope typically includes at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,11, 12, 13, 14 or 15 amino acids in a unique spatial conformation. See,e.g., Epitope Mapping Protocols in Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol.66, G. E. Morris, Ed. (1996).

The terms “specific binding,” “selective binding,” “selectively binds,”and “specifically binds,” refer to antibody binding to an epitope on apredetermined antigen. Typically, the antibody binds with an affinity(K_(D)) of approximately less than 10⁻⁷ M, such as approximately lessthan 10 ⁻⁸ M, 10⁻⁹ M or 10⁻¹⁰ M or even lower, as determined usingsurface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology in a BIACORE instrument.

The term “K_(D),” refers to the dissociation equilibrium constant of aparticular antibody-antigen interaction. In certain embodiments, someantibodies of the invention bind to TNF with a dissociation equilibriumconstant (K_(D)) of less than approximately 10⁻⁷ M, such as less thanapproximately 10⁻⁸ M, 10⁻⁹ M or 10⁻¹⁰ M or even lower, for example, asdetermined using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology in a BIACOREinstrument.

As used herein, “identity” refers to the sequence matching between twopolypeptides, molecules or between two nucleic acids. When a position inboth of the two compared sequences is occupied by the same base or aminoacid monomer subunit (for instance, if a position in each of the two DNAmolecules is occupied by adenine, or a position in each of twopolypeptides is occupied by a lysine), then the respective molecules areidentical at that position. The “percentage identity” between twosequences is a function of the number of matching positions shared bythe two sequences divided by the number of positions compared×100. Forinstance, if 6 of 10 of the positions in two sequences are matched, thenthe two sequences have 60% identity. By way of example, the DNAsequences CTGACT and CAGGTT share 50% identity (3 of the 6 totalpositions are matched). Generally, a comparison is made when twosequences are aligned to give maximum identity. Such alignment can beprovided using, for instance, the method of Needleman et al. (1970) J.Mol. Biol. 48: 443-453, implemented conveniently by computer programssuch as the Align program (DNAstar, Inc.). The percent identity betweentwo amino acid sequences can also be determined using the algorithm ofE. Meyers and W. Miller (Comput. Appl. Biosci., 4:11-17 (1988)) whichhas been incorporated into the ALIGN program (version 2.0), using aPAM120 weight residue table, a gap length penalty of 12 and a gappenalty of 4. In addition, the percent identity between two amino acidsequences can be determined using the Needleman and Wunsch (J. Mol.Biol. 48:444-453 (1970)) algorithm which has been incorporated into theGAP program in the GCG software package (available at www.gcg.com),using either a Blossum 62 matrix or a PAM250 matrix, and a gap weight of16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, or 4 and a length weight of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.

“Similar” sequences are those which, when aligned, share identical andsimilar amino acid residues, where similar residues are conservativesubstitutions for corresponding amino acid residues in an alignedreference sequence. In this regard, a “conservative substitution” of aresidue in a reference sequence is a substitution by a residue that isphysically or functionally similar to the corresponding referenceresidue, e.g., that has a similar size, shape, electric charge, chemicalproperties, including the ability to form covalent or hydrogen bonds, orthe like. Thus, a “conservative substitution modified” sequence is onethat differs from a reference sequence or a wild-type sequence in thatone or more conservative substitutions are present. The “percentagesimilarity” between two sequences is a function of the number ofpositions that contain matching residues or conservative substitutionsshared by the two sequences divided by the number of positionscompared×100. For instance, if 6 of 10 of the positions in two sequencesare matched and 2 of 10 positions contain conservative substitutions,then the two sequences have 80% positive similarity.

As used herein, the term “conservative sequence modifications” isintended to refer to amino acid modifications that do not negativelyaffect or alter the binding characteristics of the antibody containingthe amino acid sequence. Such conservative sequence modificationsinclude nucleotide and amino acid substitutions, additions anddeletions. For example, modifications can be introduced by standardtechniques known in the art, such as site-directed mutagenesis andPCR-mediated mutagenesis. Conservative amino acid substitutions includeones in which the amino acid residue is replaced with an amino acidresidue having a similar side chain. Families of amino acid residueshaving similar side chains have been defined in the art. These familiesinclude amino acids with basic side chains (e.g., lysine, arginine,histidine), acidic side chains (e.g., aspartic acid, glutamic acid),uncharged polar side chains (e.g., glycine, asparagine, glutamine,serine, threonine, tyrosine, cysteine, tryptophan), nonpolar side chains(e.g., alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, proline, phenylalanine,methionine), beta-branched side chains (e.g., threonine, valine,isoleucine) and aromatic side chains (e.g., tyrosine, phenylalanine,tryptophan, histidine). Thus, a predicted nonessential amino acidresidue in a particular antibody is preferably replaced with anotheramino acid residue from the same side chain family. Methods ofidentifying nucleotide and amino acid conservative substitutions whichdo not eliminate antigen binding are well-known in the art (see, e.g.,Brummell et al., Biochem. 32:1180-1187 (1993); Kobayashi et al. ProteinEng. 12(10):879-884 (1999); and Burks et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA94:412-417 (1997)).

“Amino acid consensus sequence” as used herein refers to an amino acidsequence that can be generated using a matrix of at least two, andpreferably more, aligned amino acid sequences, and allowing for gaps inthe alignment, such that it is possible to determine the most frequentamino acid residue at each position. The consensus sequence is thatsequence which comprises the amino acids which are most frequentlyrepresented at each position. In the event that two or more amino acidsare equally represented at a single position, the consensus sequenceincludes both or all of those amino acids.

The amino acid sequence of a protein can be analyzed at various levels.For example, conservation or variability can be exhibited at the singleresidue level, multiple residue level, multiple residue with gaps etc.Residues can exhibit conservation of the identical residue or can beconserved at the class level. Examples of amino acid classes includepolar but uncharged R groups (Serine, Threonine, Asparagine andGlutamine); positively charged R groups (Lysine, Arginine, andHistidine); negatively charged R groups (Glutamic acid and Asparticacid); hydrophobic R groups (Alanine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Methionine,Phenylalanine, Tryptophan, Valine and Tyrosine); and special amino acids(Cysteine, Glycine and Proline). Other classes are known to one of skillin the art and may be defined using structural determinations or otherdata to assess substitutability. In that sense, a substitutable aminoacid can refer to any amino acid which can be substituted and maintainfunctional conservation at that position.

It will be recognized, however, that amino acids of the same class mayvary in degree by their biophysical properties. For example, it will berecognized that certain hydrophobic R groups (e.g., Alanine, Serine, orThreonine) are more hydrophilic (i.e., of higher hydrophilicity or lowerhydrophobicity) than other hydrophobic R groups (e.g., Valine orLeucine). Relative hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity can be determinedusing art-recognized methods (see, e.g., Rose et al., Science, 229:834-838 (1985) and Cornette et al., J. Mol. Biol., 195: 659-685 (1987)).

As used herein, when one amino acid sequence (e.g., a first V_(H) orV_(L) sequence) is aligned with one or more additional amino acidsequences (e.g., one or more VH or VL sequences in a database), an aminoacid position in one sequence (e.g., the first V_(H) or V_(L) sequence)can be compared to a “corresponding position” in the one or moreadditional amino acid sequences. As used herein, the “correspondingposition” represents the equivalent position in the sequence(s) beingcompared when the sequences are optimally aligned, i.e., when thesequences are aligned to achieve the highest percent identity or percentsimilarity.

The term “nucleic acid molecule,” refers to DNA molecules and RNAmolecules. A nucleic acid molecule may be single-stranded ordouble-stranded, but preferably is double-stranded DNA. A nucleic acidis “operably linked” when it is placed into a functional relationshipwith another nucleic acid sequence. For instance, a promoter or enhanceris operably linked to a coding sequence if it affects the transcriptionof the sequence. In certain embodiments, the invention provides isolatednucleic acid molecules that encode an antibody of the invention, avariable light chain of the invention, and/or a variable heavy chain ofthe invention. In certain embodiments, a nucleic acid molecule of theinvention encodes: a polypeptide comprising a light chain variableregion having at least 97% identity to SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 14; apolypeptide comprising a heavy chain variable region having at least 95%identity to SEQ ID NO: 5; or an antibody having at least 96% identity toSEQ ID NO: 10 or SEQ ID NO: 17.

The term “vector,” refers to a nucleic acid molecule capable oftransporting another nucleic acid to which it has been linked. One typeof vector is a “plasmid,” which refers to a circular double stranded DNAloop into which additional DNA segments may be ligated. Another type ofvector is a viral vector, wherein additional DNA segments may be ligatedinto the viral genome. Certain vectors are capable of autonomousreplication in a host cell into which they are introduced (e.g.,bacterial vectors having a bacterial origin of replication and episomalmammalian vectors). Other vectors (e.g., non-episomal mammalian vectors)can be integrated into the genome of a host cell upon introduction intothe host cell, and thereby are replicated along with the host genome.

The term “host cell” refers to a cell into which an expression vectorhas been introduced. Host cells can include bacterial, microbial, plantor animal cells. Bacteria, which are susceptible to transformation,include members of the enterobacteriaceae, such as strains ofEscherichia coli or Salmonella; Bacillaceae, such as Bacillus subtilis;Pneumococcus; Streptococcus, and Haemophilus influenzae. Suitablemicrobes include Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris. Suitableanimal host cell lines include CHO (Chinese Hamster Ovary lines) and NS0cells.

The terms “treat,” “treating,” and “treatment,” refer to therapeutic orpreventative measures described herein. The methods of “treatment”employ administration to a subject, in need of such treatment, anantibody of the present invention, for example, a subject having aTNFα-mediated disorder or a subject who ultimately may acquire such adisorder, in order to prevent, cure, delay, reduce the severity of, orameliorate one or more symptoms of the disorder or recurring disorder,or in order to prolong the survival of a subject beyond that expected inthe absence of such treatment.

The term “TNF-mediated disorder” refers generally to disease statesand/or symptoms associated with TNF, including any disorder, the onset,progression or the persistence of the symptoms of which requires theparticipation of TNF. Examples of TNF-mediated disorders include, butare not limited to, age-related macular degeneration, neovascularglaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, retrolentalfibroplasia, breast carcinomas, lung carcinomas, gastric carcinomas,esophageal carcinomas, colorectal carcinomas, liver carcinomas, ovariancarcinomas, the comas, arrhenoblastomas, cervical carcinomas,endometrial carcinoma, endometrial hyperplasia, endometriosis,fibrosarcomas, choriocarcinoma, head and neck cancer, nasopharyngealcarcinoma, laryngeal carcinomas, hepatoblastoma, Kaposi's sarcoma,melanoma, skin carcinomas, hemangioma, cavernous hemangioma,hemangioblastoma, pancreas carcinomas, retinoblastoma, astrocytoma,glioblastoma, Schwannoma, oligodendroglioma, medulloblastoma,neuroblastomas, rhabdomyosarcoma, osteogenic sarcoma, leiomyosarcomas,urinary tract carcinomas, thyroid carcinomas, Wilm's tumor, renal cellcarcinoma, prostate carcinoma, abnormal vascular proliferationassociated with phakomatoses, edema (such as that associated with braintumors), Meigs' syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis andatherosclerosis. TNF-mediated disorders also include dry eye andTNFα-related inflammatory conditions, such as ocular inflammation,allergic conjunctivitis, dermatitis, rhinitis, and asthma, for example,and include those cellular changes resulting from the activity of TNFαthat leads directly or indirectly to the TNFα-related inflammatorycondition. In addition, TNF-mediated disorders also include ocularangiogenesis, Bechet's disease, retinitis, glaucoma, Sjörgen syndrome,diabetic neuropathy, scleritis, keratitis and uveitis.

The term “effective dose” or “effective dosage” refers to an amountsufficient to achieve or at least partially achieve the desired effect.The term “therapeutically effective dose” is defined as an amountsufficient to cure or at least partially arrest the disease and itscomplications in a patient already suffering from the disease. Amountseffective for this use will depend upon the severity of the disorderbeing treated and the general state of the patient's own immune system.

The term “subject” refers to any human or non-human animal. For example,the methods and compositions of the present invention can be used totreat a subject with a TNF-mediated disorder.

The numbering systems as used herein to identify amino acid residuepositions in antibody heavy and light chain variable regions correspondsto the one as defined by A. Honegger, J. Mol. Biol. 309 (2001) 657-670(the AHo system). Conversion tables between the AHo system and the mostcommonly used system as defined by Kabat et al. (Kabat, E. A., et al.(1991) Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, Fifth Edition,U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH Publication No.91-3242) are provided in A. Honegger, J. Mol. Biol. 309 (2001) 657-670.

As used herein, the term “aggregation” refers to the process ofintermolecular interactions/associations between monomeric molecules inliquid solution leading to the formation of oligomeric species.Aggregation can be evaluated under stress conditions using acceleratedstability studies in a concentrated solution. Accelerated stabilitystudies are designed to increase the rate of degradation, aggregation orchemical modifications of a compound by using extreme storageconditions. Accelerated stability studies, also known as stress studies,are typically performed at 40° C. and room temperature. These stabilitystudies provide valuable information concerning the effect of exposureto environmental conditions outside of the normal label storageconditions, also known as stress conditions. High protein concentrationsolutions are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry. The solutionbehavior of proteins at high concentrations can be markedly differentfrom that predicted based on dilute solution analysis due tothermodynamic non-ideality in these solutions. The non-ideality observedin these systems is related to the protein-protein interactions (PPI).Different types of forces play a key role in determining the overallnature and extent of these PPI and their relative contributions areaffected by solute and solvent properties. The role of PPI is driven bythese intermolecular forces to govern solution characteristics,including physical stability and protein self-association andaggregation. Concentrated solutions are those solutions where PPIaffects the proteins in solution by increasing the oligomerization rate.A concentrated solution can have, for example, a protein concentrationof at least 10 mg/ml.

Soluble products of this process may be detected with analyticalmethods, such as SE-HPLC. The term “aggregation-reducing modification”as used herein refers to a modification, such as an amino acidsubstitution, that reduces an antibody's propensity to aggregate in aliquid solution compared with a parental antibody as described herein. A“parental” antibody is an antibody comprising essentially the samesequence as the corresponding antibody that has aggregration-reducingmodifications. For example, the parental antibody may have the same CDRsas the modified antibody, and may have the exact same sequence as themodified antibody except for residues at AHo position 47 and/or 50 inthe variable light chain sequence, and may further differ at AHopositions 12, 103, and 144 in the variable heavy chain sequence. Otherdifferences may also be present, so long as the parental antibody doesnot contain the aggregration-reducing modifications present in theantibody modified according to a method of the invention.

The term “interface” as used herein refers to the interaction betweenthe two variable domains (heavy and light variable domains) of anantibody. The interface includes the amino acid residues thatparticipate directly or indirectly in the interaction between thevariable domains. Such interaction includes, but is not limited to, allkinds of non-bonded interactions, for example van der Waals forces,hydrogen bonding, electrostatic terms, and hydrophobic interactionsbetween the two domains.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs. Although methods and materialssimilar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in thepractice or testing of the present invention, suitable methods andmaterials are described below. In case of conflict, the presentspecification, including definitions, will control. In addition, thematerials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intendedto be limiting.

Various aspects of the invention are described in further detail in thefollowing subsections. It is understood that the various embodiments,preferences and ranges may be combined at will. Further, depending ofthe specific embodiment, selected definitions, embodiments or ranges maynot apply.

In one aspect, the present invention provides antibodies that bind TNFαand thus are suitable to block the function of TNFα in vivo.

In certain embodiments, antibodies of the invention are optimized withan aggregration-reducing modification(s) relative to a parentalantibody, such that an antibody of the invention has a reducedpropensity to aggregate compared with a parental/unmodified antibody.Such modification(s) include amino acid substitutions of particularresidues that participate in the variable light chain (VL) and variableheavy chain (VH) interface. In some embodiments, theaggregration-reducing modification comprises at least one amino acidsubstitution that reduces the free energy of the VL-VH interfacecompared with the free energy of the VL-VH interface of the parentalantibody in an in silico modeling approach, as described herein. Suchmodifications include amino acid substitutions of particular residuesthat contribute to the free energy of the VL-VH interface.

In certain embodiments, an aggregation-reducing modification of theinvention comprises a substitution at AHo position 50 in the VL chain.In one embodiment, the substitution is an arginine (R) at AHo position50. In another embodiment, the arginine (R) at AHo position 50 replacesa lysine (K).

In other embodiments, an aggregation-reducing modification of theinvention comprises a substitution at AHo position 47 in the VL chain.In one embodiment, the substitution is an arginine (R) at AHo position47. In another embodiment, the arginine (R) at AHo position 47 replacesa lysine (K).

The AHo numbering system is described in detail in Honegger, A. andPl{umlaut over (υ)}ckthun, A. (2001) J MoI. Biol. 309:657-670). AHoposition 50 in the variable light chain corresponds to Kabat position42. AHo position 47 in the variable light chain corresponds to Kabatposition 39. The Kabat numbering system is described further in Kabat etal. (Kabat, E. A., et al. (1991) Sequences of Proteins of ImmunologicalInterest, Fifth Edition, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,NIH Publication No. 91-3242).). Conversion tables between the AHo systemand the most commonly used system as defined by Kabat et al are providedin A. Honegger, J. Mol. Biol. 309 (2001) 657-670.

The following conversion tables are provided for two different numberingsystems used to identify amino acid residue positions in antibody heavyand light chain variable regions. The Kabat numbering system isdescribed further in Kabat et al. (Kabat, E. A., et al. (1991) Sequencesof Proteins of Immunological Interest, Fifth Edition, U.S. Department ofHealth and Human Services, NIH Publication No. 91-3242). The AHonumbering system is described further in Honegger, A. and Pluckthun, A.(2001) J. Mol. Biol. 309:657-670).

Heavy Chain Variable Region Numbering

TABLE 1 Conversion table for the residue positions in the Heavy ChainVariable Domain Kabat AHo Kabat AHo Kabat AHo  1 1 44 51  87 101  2 2 4552  88 102  3 3 46 53  89 103  4 4 47 54  90 104  5 5 48 55  91 105  6 649 56  92 106  7 7 50 57  93 107 * 8 51 58  94 108  8 9 52 59  95 109  910 52a 60  96 110 10 11 52b 61  97 111 11 12 52c 62  98 112 12 13 * 63 99 113 13 14 53 64 100 114 14 15 54 65 100a 115 15 16 55 66 100b 116 1617 56 67 100c 117 17 18 57 68 100d 118 18 19 58 69 100e 119 19 20 59 70100f 120 20 21 60 71 100g 121 21 22 61 72 100h 122 22 23 62 73 100i 12323 24 63 74 * 124 24 25 64 75 * 125 25 26 65 76 * 126 26 27 66 77 *127 * 28 67 78 * 128 27 29 68 79 * 129 28 30 69 80 * 130 29 31 70 81 *131 30 32 71 82 * 132 31 33 72 83 * 133 32 34 73 84 * 134 33 35 74 85 *135 34 36 75 86 * 136 35 37 76 87 101 137 35a 38 77 88 102 138 35b 39 7889 103 139 * 40 79 90 104 140 * 41 80 91 105 141 * 42 81 92 106 142 3643 82 93 107 143 37 44 82a 94 108 144 38 45 82b 95 109 145 39 46 82b 96110 146 40 47 83 97 111 147 41 48 84 98 112 148 42 49 85 99 113 149 4350 86 100 Column 1, Residue position in Kabat's numbering system. Column2, Corresponding number in AHo's numbering system for the positionindicated in column 1. Column 3, Residue position in Kabat's numberingsystem. Column 4, Corresponding number in AHo's numbering system for theposition indicated in column 3. Column 5, Residue position in Kabat'snumbering system. Column 6, Corresponding number in AHo's numberingsystem for the position indicated in column 5

Light Chain Variable Region Numbering

TABLE 2 Conversion table for the residue positions in the Light ChainVariable Domain Kabat AHo Kabat AHo Kabat AHo  1 1 43 51  83 101  2 2 4452  84 102  3 3 45 53  85 103  4 4 46 54  86 104  5 5 47 55  87 105  6 648 56  88 106  7 7 49 57  89 107  8 8 50 58  90 108  9 9 * 59  91 109 1010 * 60  92 110 11 11 * 61  93 111 12 12 * 62  94 112 13 13 * 63  95 11314 14 * 64  95a 114 15 15 * 65  95b 115 16 16 * 66  95c 116 17 17 51 67 95d 117 18 18 52 68  95e 118 19 19 53 69  95f 119 20 20 54 70 * 120 2121 55 71 * 121 22 22 56 72 * 122 23 23 57 73 * 123 24 24 58 74 * 124 2525 59 75 * 125 26 26 60 76 * 126 27 27 61 77 * 127 * 28 62 78 * 128 27a29 63 79 * 129 27b 30 64 80 * 130 27c 31 65 81 * 131 27d 32 66 82 * 13227e 33 67 83 * 133 27f 34 68 84 * 134 * 35 * 85 * 135 28 36 * 86 * 13629 37 69 87  96 137 30 38 70 88  97 138 31 39 71 89  98 139 32 40 72 90 99 140 33 41 73 91 100 141 34 42 74 92 101 142 35 43 75 93 102 143 3644 76 94 103 144 37 45 77 95 104 145 38 46 78 96 105 146 39 47 79 97 106147 40 48 80 98 107 148 41 49 81 99 108 149 42 50 82 100 Column 1,Residue position in Kabat's numbering system. Column 2, Correspondingnumber in AHo's numbering system for the position indicated in column 1.Column 3, Residue position in Kabat's numbering system. Column 4,Corresponding number in AHo's numbering system for the positionindicated in column 3. Column 5, Residue position in Kabat's numberingsystem. Column 6, Corresponding number in AHo's numbering system for theposition indicated in column 5

The antibodies of the invention can comprise additional modifications asdesired. For example, an antibody of the invention can comprise aminoacid substitutions to reduce its immunogenicity in vivo according to themethods described, for example, in US patent application Ser. No.12/973,968 and/or substitutions for enhancing the solubility of theantibody, as described in WO 09/155725. Thus, in one embodiment, anantibody of the invention comprises Serine (S) at heavy chain position12 (AHo numbering); Serine (S) or Threonine (T) at heavy chain position103 (AHo numbering) and/or Serine (S) or Threonine (T) at heavy chainposition 144 (AHo numbering). Additionally, the antibody can compriseSerine (S) or Threonine (T) at heavy chain positions 97, 98 and/or 99(AHo numbering). Preferably, the antibody comprises Serine (S) at heavychain position 12 (AHo numbering), Threonine (T) at heavy chain position103 (AHo numbering) and Threonine (T) at heavy chain position 144 (AHonumbering).

In one embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises the variablelight chain:

SEQ ID NO: 1 EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC(X)_(n=1-50)WYQQKPGRAPKLLIY(X)_(n=1-50) GVPSRFSGSGSGAEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC(X)_(n=1-50)FGQGTKLTVLG

In a preferred embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises thevariable light chain (the CDRs are underlined):

SEQ ID NO: 2: EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC QSSQSVYGNIWMA WYQQKPGRAPKLL IYQASKLAS GVPSRFSGSGSGAEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC QGNFNTGD RYA FGQGTKLTVLG

In another embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises thevariable heavy chain:

variable heavy chain framework SEQ ID NO. 3:EVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCTAS(X)_(n=1-50)WVRQAPGKGLEWVG(X)_(n=1-50)RFTISRDTSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAR(X)_(n=1-50) WGQGTLVTVSS

In still another embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises thevariable heavy chain framework

variable heavy chain framework SEQ ID NO: 4:EVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCTVS(X)_(n=1-50)WVRQAPGKGLEWVG(X)_(n=1-50)RFTISKDTSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAR(X)_(n=1-50) WGQGTLVTVSS

In a preferred embodiment, the antibody of the invention comprises thevariable heavy chain (the CDRs are underlined):

SEQ ID NO: 5: EVQLVESGGGSVQPGGSLRLSCTAS GFTISRSYWIC WVRQAPGKGLEWV GCIYGDNDITPLYANWAKG RFTISRDTSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTATYYC AR LGYADYAYDLWGQGTTVTVSS

As used herein, X residues are CDR insertion sites. X may be anynaturally occurring amino acid; at least three and up to 50 amino acidscan be present.

In one embodiment, the variable light chain framework of an antibody ofthe invention comprises SEQ ID NO: 1 and the variable heavy chainframework comprises SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4.

In another embodiment, the variable light chain framework of an antibodyof the invention comprises a sequence having at least 65% identity, morepreferably at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, more preferably99% identity, to SEQ ID NO: 1. Most preferably said sequence has anarginine (R) at AHo position 50. In another embodiment, said sequencehas an arginine (R) at AHo position 47.

In another embodiment, the variable heavy chain framework of an antibodyof the invention comprises a sequence having at least 80% identity, morepreferably at least 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%,more preferably 99% identity, to SEQ ID No. 3. Preferably, said antibodycomprises Serine (S) at heavy chain position 12 (AHo numbering),Threonine (T) at heavy chain position 103 (AHo numbering) and Threonine(T) at heavy chain position 144 (AHo numbering).

In another embodiment, the variable light chain framework of an antibodyof the invention comprises a sequence having at least 97%, 98%, morepreferably 99% identity, to SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 14.

In another embodiment, the variable heavy chain framework of an antibodyof the invention comprises a sequence having at least 95%, 96%, 97%,98%, more preferably 99% identity, to SEQ ID NO: 5.

In another embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises a sequencehaving at least 96%, 97%, 98%, more preferably 99% identity, to SEQ IDNO: 10 or SEQ ID NO: 17.

In another embodiment, the variable light chain framework of an antibodyof the invention comprises SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 14, and thevariable heavy chain framework comprises SEQ ID NO: 5.

In one embodiment, antibodies and antibody fragments of the presentinvention are single-chain antibodies (scFv) or Fab fragments. In thecase of scFv antibodies, a VL domain can be linked to a VH domain ineither orientation by a flexible linker A suitable state of the artlinker consists of repeated GGGGS (SEQ ID NO: 6) amino acid sequences orvariants thereof. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention a(GGGGS)₄ (SEQ ID NO: 7) linker or its derivative is used, but variantsof 1-3 repeats are also possible (Holliger et al. (1993), Proc. Natl.Acad. Sci. USA 90:6444-6448). Other linkers that can be used for thepresent invention are described by Alfthan et al. (1995), Protein Eng.8:725-731, Choi et al. (2001), Eur. J. Immunol. 31:94-106, Hu et al.(1996), Cancer Res. 56:3055-3061, Kipriyanov et al. (1999), J. Mol.Biol. 293:41-56 and Roovers et al. (2001), Cancer Immunol. Immunother.50:51-59. The arrangement can be either VL-linker-VH or VH-linker-VL,with the former orientation being the preferred one. In the case of Fabfragments, selected light chain variable domains VL are fused to theconstant region of a human Ig kappa chain, while the suitable heavychain variable domains VH are fused to the first (N-terminal) constantdomain CH1 of a human IgG. At the C-terminus, an inter-chain disulfidebridge is formed between the two constant domains.

Thus, in one embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises thesequence:

SEQ ID NO: 8 EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC(X)_(n=1-50)WYQQKPGRAPKLLIY(X)_(n=1-50)GVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC(X)_(n=1-50)FGQGTKLTVLGGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSEVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCTAS(X)_(n=1-50)WVRQAPGKGLEWVG(X)_(n=1-50)RFTISRDTSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAR(X)_(n=1-50)WGQGTLVTVSSIn another embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises thesequence:

SEQ ID NO: 9 EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC(X)_(n=1-50)WYQQRPGKAPKLLIY(X)_(n=1-50)GVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC(X)_(n=1-50)FGQGTKLTVLGGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSEVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCTVS(X)_(n=1-50)WVRQAPGKGLEWVG(X)_(n=1-50)RFTISKDTSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAR(X)_(n=1-50)WGQGTLVTVSS

In a preferred embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises thesequence:

(34rFW1.4_VL_K50R_DHP): SEQ ID NO: 10EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITCQSSQSVYGNIWMAWYQQKPGRAPKLLIYQASKLASGVPSRFSGSGSGAEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYCQGNFNTGDRYAFGQGTKLTVLGGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSEVQLVESGGGSVQPGGSLRLSCTASGFTISRSYWICWVRQAPGKGLEWVGCIYGDNDITPLYANWAKGRFTISRDTSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTATYYCARLGYADYAYDLWGQ GTTVTVSSIn one embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises the variablelight chain:

variable light chain framework of FW1.4 (KI27) SEQ ID NO. 11:EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC(X)n=1-50 WYQQKPGKAPKLLIY(X)n=1-50 GVPSRFSGSGSGAEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC (X)n=1-50 FGQGTKLTVLGIn another embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises thevariable light chain:

substituted variable light chain framework of FW1.4 SEQ ID NO. 12:EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC(X)n=1-50 WYQQKPGKAPKLLIY(X)n=1-50GVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC(X) n=1-50 FGQGTKLTVLG

In still another preferred embodiment, an antibody of the inventioncomprises the sequence:

SEQ ID NO: 13 EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC(X)_(n=1-50)WYQQRPGKAPKLLIY(X)_(n=1-50)GVPSRFSGSGSGAEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC(X)_(n=1-50) FGQGTKLTVLG

In another embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises thevariable light chain (the CDRs are underlined):

SEQ ID NO: 14: EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC QSSQSVYGNIWMA WYQQRPGKAPKLL IYQASKLAS GVPSRFSGSGSGAEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC QGNFNTGD RYA FGQGTKLTVL

Thus, in one embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises thesequence:

SEQ ID NO: 15: EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC(X)_(n=1-50)WYQQRPGKAPKLLIY(X)_(n=1-50)GVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC(X)_(n=1-50)FGQGTKLTVLGGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSEVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCTAS(X)_(n=1-50)WVRQAPGKGLEWVG(X)_(n=1-50)RFTISRDTSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAR(X)_(n=1-50)WGQGTLVTVSS

In another embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises thesequence:

SEQ ID NO: 16: EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC(X)_(n=1-50)WYQQRPGKAPKLLIY(X)_(n=1-50)GVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC(X)_(n=1-50)FGQGTKLTVLGGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSEVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCTVS(X)_(n=1-50)WVRQAPGKGLEWVG(X)_(n=1-50)RFTISKDTSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAR(X)_(n=1-50)WGQGTLVTVSS

In one embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises the sequence:

(34rFW1.4_VL_K47R_DHP): SEQ ID NO: 17EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITCQSSQSVYGNIWMAWYQQRPGKAPKLLIYQASKLASGVPSRFSGSGSGAEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYCQGNFNTGDRYAFGQGTKLTVLGGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSEVQLVESGGGSVQPGGSLRLSCTASGFTISRSYWICWVRQAPGKGLEWVGCIYGDNDITPLYANWAKGRFTISRDTSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTATYYCARLGYADYAYDLWGQ GTTVTVSS

In yet another embodiment, an antibody of the invention comprises thesequence:

(34rFW1.4) SEQ ID NO: 18EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITCQSSQSVYGNIWMAWYQQKPGKAPKLLIYQASKLASGVPSRFSGSGSGAEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYCQGNFNTGDRYAFGQGTKLTVLGGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSEVQLVESGGGSVQPGGSLRLSCTASGFTISRSYWICWVRQAPGKGLEWVGCIYGDNDITPLYANWAKGRFTISRDTSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTATYYCARLGYADYAYDLWGQ GTTVTVSS

In one embodiment, the VL of a parental antibody is or comprises SEQ IDNO: 11 or SEQ ID NO: 12 or a sequence having at least 65% identity, morepreferably, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, more preferably 99% toSEQ ID NO: 11 or SEQ ID NO: 12. In another preferred embodiment, the VHof the parental antibody is or comprises SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4 asequence having at least 80% identity, more preferably, 85%, 90%, 95%,96%, 97%, 98%, more preferably 99% to SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4.

An antibody of the invention that comprises an aggregation-reducingmodification preferably comprises one or more CDRs from a rabbitantibody. As known in the art, rabbit CDRs are different from human orrodent CDRs: they can contain cysteine residues that become disulphidelinked to the framework or form interCDR S—S bridges. Moreover, rabbitCDRs often do not belong to any previously known canonical structure.

The present invention also features bivalent and bispecific moleculescomprising an anti-TNFα antibody, or a fragment thereof, of theinvention. An antibody of the invention, or antigen-binding portionsthereof, can be derivatized or linked to another functional molecule,e.g., another peptide or protein (e.g., another antibody or ligand for areceptor) to generate a bispecific molecule that binds to at least twodifferent binding sites or target molecules. The antibody of theinvention may be derivatized or linked to more than one other functionalmolecule to generate multispecific molecules that bind to more than twodifferent binding sites and/or target molecules; such multispecificmolecules are also intended to be encompassed by the term “bispecificmolecule” as used herein. Non-limiting examples of bispecific moleculesinclude a diabody, a single-chain diabody, and a tandem antibody, asknown to those of skill in the art.

To create a bispecific molecule of the invention, an antibody of theinvention can be functionally linked (e.g., by chemical coupling,genetic fusion, noncovalent association or otherwise) to one or moreother binding molecules, such as another antibody, antibody fragment,tumor specific or pathogen specific antigens, peptide or bindingmimetic, such that a bispecific molecule results. Accordingly, thepresent invention includes bispecific molecules comprising at least onefirst binding molecule having specificity for TNFα and a second bindingmolecule having specificity for one or more additional target epitope.In one embodiment, the bispecific molecules of the invention comprise abinding specificity at least one antibody, or an antibody fragmentthereof, including, e.g., an Fab, Fab′, F(ab′)₂, Fv, or a single chainFv. The antibody may also be a light chain or heavy chain dimer, or anyminimal fragment thereof such as a Fv or a single chain construct asdescribed in Ladner et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,778, the contents ofwhich are expressly incorporated by reference.

While human monoclonal antibodies are preferred, other antibodies whichcan be employed in the bispecific molecules of the invention are murine,chimeric and humanized monoclonal antibodies.

The bispecific molecules of the present invention can be prepared byconjugating the constituent binding specificities using methods known inthe art. For example, each binding specificity of the bispecificmolecule can be generated separately and then conjugated to one another.When the binding specificities are proteins or peptides, a variety ofcoupling or cross-linking agents can be used for covalent conjugation.Examples of cross-linking agents include protein A, carbodiimide,N-succinimidyl-S-acetyl-thioacetate (SATA),5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB), o-phenylenedimaleimide(oPDM), N-succinimidyl-3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionate (SPDP), andsulfosuccinimidyl 4-(N-maleimidomethyl)cyclohaxane-1-carboxylate(sulfo-SMCC) (see e.g., Karpovsky et al. (1984) J. Exp. Med. 160:1686;Liu, M A et al. (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:8648). Othermethods include those described in Paulus (1985) Behring Ins. Mitt. No.78, 118-132; Brennan et al. (1985) Science 229:81-83), and Glennie etal. (1987) J. Immunol. 139: 2367-2375). Preferred conjugating agents areSATA and sulfo-SMCC, both available from Pierce Chemical Co. (Rockford,Ill.).

When the binding specificities are antibodies, they can be conjugatedvia sulfhydryl bonding, for example, via the C-terminus hinge regions ofthe two heavy chains or other sites, whether naturally occurring orintroduced artificially. In a particularly preferred embodiment, thehinge region is modified to contain an odd number of sulfhydrylresidues, preferably one, prior to conjugation.

Alternatively, both binding specificities can be encoded in the samevector and expressed and assembled in the same host cell. This method isparticularly useful where the bispecific molecule is a mAb×mAb, mAb×Fab,Fab×F(ab′)₂ or ligand×Fab fusion protein. A bispecific molecule of theinvention can be a single chain molecule comprising one single chainantibody and a binding determinant, or a single chain bispecificmolecule comprising two binding determinants. Bispecific molecules maycomprise at least two single chain molecules. Further, a bispecficmolecule may be a scFv that specifically binds to first target, whereinthe VH and VL of said scFv are linked with a flexible linker comprisinga domain providing specific binding to a second target. Suitable linkersare described, for example, in International Patent Application WO2010/006454. Methods for preparing bispecific molecules are describedfor example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,203; U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,030; U.S.Pat. No. 4,881,175; U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,405; U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,513;U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,786; U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,653; U.S. Pat. No.5,258,498; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,858.

Binding of the bispecific molecules to their specific targets can beconfirmed by, for example, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA),radioimmunoassay (RIA), FACS analysis, bioassay (e.g., growthinhibition), or by immunoblot assay. Each of these assays generallydetects the presence of protein-antibody complexes of particularinterest by employing a labeled reagent (e.g., an antibody) specific forthe complex of interest. For example, the TNF-antibody complexes can bedetected using e.g., an enzyme-linked antibody or antibody fragmentwhich recognizes and specifically binds to the antibody-TNF complexes.Alternatively, the complexes can be detected using any of a variety ofother immunoassays. For example, the antibody can be radioactivelylabeled and used in a radioimmunoassay (RIA) (see, for example,Weintraub, B., Principles of Radioimmunoassays, Seventh Training Courseon Radioligand Assay Techniques, The Endocrine Society, March, 1986,which is incorporated by reference herein). The radioactive isotope canbe detected by such means as the use of a γ counter or a scintillationcounter or by autoradiography.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method for producing theantibodies described herein. The methods for producing antibodies havingreduced propensity for aggregating in solution as provided herein arebased on the surprising observation that through modulation of theantibody domain interaction between the light chain and heavy chain,aggregation propensity of antibodies can be reduced, and thataggregation-reducing mutations can be reliably predicted by determiningthe free energy of the VL/VH interface defined as the difference betweenthe energy of the antibody (such as an scFv) and the individual variabledomains. As shown herein, aggregation-reducing substitutions thatmodulate antibody domain interaction by lowering the free energy betweenthe variable domains can be made without affecting stability or bindingactivity of the antibody.

In one embodiment, a method of the invention comprises the steps of:

-   -   (i) providing an antibody comprising a variable light chain (VL)        and a variable heavy chain (VH);    -   (ii) identifying one or more residue position participating in        the interface between the variable light chain (VL) and the        variable heavy chain (VH) of the antibody; and    -   (iii) modifying the antibody by introducing a substitution at        the identified residue position(s) such that the substitution(s)        reduces the free energy between the VL and the VH domains by at        least 0.5 kcal/mol, preferably at least 1.0 kcal/mol, and most        preferably at least 2.0 kcal/mol (i.e., the free energy between        the VL and VH domains with the substitution is at least 0.5        kcal/mol less than the free energy between the corresponding VL        and VH domains that do not comprise the amino acid        substitution), thereby reducing the aggregation propensity of        the modified antibody compared with that of a parental antibody.

As outlined above, the antibody can be, for example, a Fab, Fab′, aF(ab)′2, single-chain Fv (scFv), an Fv fragment, a diabody, asingle-chain diabody, a tandem antibody, or a linear antibody; in apreferred embodiment, the antibody is a single-chain Fv (scFv).

In a preferred embodiment, the identification of the one or more residuepositions participating in the interface between the variable lightchain and the variable heavy chain of the antibody (i.e. step (ii))involves the determination of the free energy between the VL-VHinterface. This can be performed by using commonly known bioinformaticprograms. One example of a suitable bioinformatic program is CHARMM(Chemistry at HARvard Macromolecular Mechanics).

For the purpose of determining the free energy between the VL-VHinterface, typically, a full atomistic molecular presentation of theprotein is provided. The free energy of the interface is the energydifference between the entire antibody comprising both variable domainsVL and VH and the sum of the energies of the individual domains in thecontext of an implicit solvent method. This involves three single energycalculations, (1) on the antibody G(a); (2) on the VL G(b); and (3) onthe VH G(c). Accordingly, the free energy of the interface is

G interface=G(a)−G(b)−G(c)

In one embodiment, the implicit solvent method is GBMV or PBSA as knownin the art.

The free energy determination may further comprise the step ofsimulating the charge distribution of the protein. Said chargedistribution can be simulated based on electrostatic or van der Waalsforces.

To determine a suitable modification, one or more amino acid residuesparticipating in the interface can be chosen for substitution. Forexample, a molecular model of the protein comprising the one or moresubstitutions (e.g., changing one or more residues to alanine) at theselected positions is generated and the free energy of the interface ofthe substituted molecular presentation is determined. If the free energyof the interface of the substituted molecular model is lower than thefree energy of the interface of the initial molecular model, the aminoacid residue is selected for substitution. Within the context of CHARMm,mutations can be constructed, for example, with the Build Mutantsprotocol. The one or more substitutions in the molecular model can be atpositions that are known or suspected to be involved in the VL/VHinterface.

In one embodiment, an additional step of energy minimization of themolecular model comprising the one or more substitutions at the selectedposition(s) in the area around the mutation(s) is performed. Said areacan be set to 10 Angstroms.

In one embodiment, a residue position identified for substitution isoccupied by a charged amino acid.

An antibody produced by a method of the invention can comprise anysuitable variable light chain or heavy chain as known in the art, andpreferably comprises at least one CDR from a rabbit antibody. Certainpreferred variable light and heavy chains are described herein. Forexample, an antibody of the invention can comprise: a VL antibodyframework having at least 65% identity, more preferably 80%, 85%, 90%,95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, more preferably 99% to SEQ ID NO: 11 or SEQ ID NO:12, further comprising arginine (R) at AHo position 47 and/or at AHoposition 50 of the variable light chain; and a VH antibody frameworkhaving at least 80% identity, more preferably, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%,98%, more preferably 99% to SEQ ID NO: 3.

The modification of the one or more residue positions is preferably doneaccording to the teachings of PCT/CH2008/000285, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. Briefly, for a given antibodysubtype, certain amino acids are present at specific residue positionsof the antibody framework. For example,

-   a) for a human VH3 family heavy chain variable region, the preferred    amino acids are:    -   (i) glutamine (Q) at amino acid position 1 using AHo or Kabat        numbering system;    -   (ii) glutamine (Q) at amino acid position 6 using AHo or Kabat        numbering system;    -   (iii) threonine (T) or alanine (A) at amino acid position 7        using AHo or Kabat numbering system;    -   (iv) alanine (A), valine (V), or phenylalanine (F) at amino acid        position 89 using AHo numbering system (amino acid position 78        using Kabat numbering system); and/or    -   (v) arginine (R), glutamine (Q), isoleucine (I), leucine (L),        methionine (M) or phenylalanine (F) at amino acid position 103        using AHo numbering system (amino acid position 89 using Kabat        numbering);-   b) for a human VH 1 a family heavy chain variable region, the    preferred amino acids are:    -   (i) glutamic acid (E) at amino acid position 1 using AHo or        Kabat numbering system;    -   (ii) glutamic acid (E) at amino acid position 6 using AHo or        Kabat numbering system;    -   (iii) leucine (L) at amino acid position 12 using AHo numbering        system (amino acid position 11 using Kabat numbering system);    -   (iv) methionine (M) at amino acid position 13 using AHo        numbering system (amino acid position 12 using Kabat numbering        system):    -   (v) glutamic acid (E) or glutamine (Q) at amino acid position 14        using AHo numbering system (amino acid position 13 using Kabat        numbering system);    -   (vi) leucine (L) at amino acid position 19 using AHo numbering        system (amino acid position 18 using Kabat numbering system);    -   (vii) isoleucine (I) at amino acid position 21 using AHo        numbering system (amino acid position 20 using Kabat numbering        system);    -   (viii) phenylalanine (F), serine (S), histidine (H) or aspartic        acid (D) at amino acid position 90 using AHo numbering system        (amino acid position 79 using Kabat numbering system);    -   (ix) aspartic acid (D) or glutamine (Q) at amino acid position        92 using AHo numbering system (amino acid position 81 using        Kabat numbering system);    -   (x) glycine (G), asparagine (N) or threonine (T) at amino acid        position 95 using AHo numbering system (amino acid position 82b        using Kabat numbering system); and/or    -   (xi) threonine (T), alanine (A), proline (P) or        phenylalanine (F) at amino acid position 98 using AHo numbering        (amino acid position 84 using Kabat numbering);-   c) for a human VH1b family heavy chain variable region, preferred    amino acids are:    -   (i) glutamic acid (E) at amino acid position 1 using AHo or        Kabat numbering system;    -   (ii) threonine (T), proline (P), valine (V) or aspartic acid (D)        at amino acid position 10 using AHo numbering system (amino acid        position 9 using Kabat numbering system);    -   (iii) leucine (L) at amino acid position 12 using AHo numbering        system (amino acid position 11 using Kabat numbering system);    -   (iv) valine (V), arginine (R), glutamine (Q) or methionine (M)        at amino acid position 13 using AHo numbering system (amino acid        position 12 using Kabat numbering system):    -   (v) glutamic acid (E), arginine (R) or methionine (M) at amino        acid position 14 using AHo numbering system (amino acid position        13 using Kabat numbering system);    -   (vi) arginine (R), threonine (T), or asparagine (N) at amino        acid position 20 using AHo numbering system (amino acid position        19 using Kabat numbering system);    -   (vii) isoleucine (I), phenylalanine (F), or leucine (L) at amino        acid position 21 using AHo numbering system (amino acid position        20 using Kabat numbering system);    -   (viii) lysine (K) at amino acid position 45 using AHo numbering        system (amino acid position 38 using Kabat numbering system);    -   (ix) threonine (T), proline (P), valine (V) or arginine (R) at        amino acid position 47 using AHo numbering system (amino acid        position 40 using Kabat numbering system);    -   (x) lysine (K), histidine (H) or glutamic acid (E) at amino acid        position 50 using AHo numbering system (amino acid position 43        using Kabat numbering system);    -   (xi) isoleucine (I) at amino acid position 55 using AHo        numbering (amino acid position 48 using Kabat numbering);    -   (xii) lysine (K) at amino acid position 77 using AHo numbering        (amino acid position 66 using Kabat numbering);    -   (xiii) alanine (A), leucine (L) or isoleucine (I) at amino acid        position 78 using AHo numbering system (amino acid position 67        using Kabat numbering system);    -   (xiv) glutamic acid (E), threonine (T) or alanine (A) at amino        acid position 82 using AHo numbering system (amino acid position        71 using Kabat numbering system);    -   (xv) threonine (T), serine (S) or leucine (L) at amino acid        position 86 using AHo numbering system (amino acid position 75        using Kabat numbering system);    -   (xvi) aspartic acid (D), asparagine (N) or glycine (G) at amino        acid position 87 using AHo numbering system (amino acid position        76 using Kabat numbering system); and/or    -   (xvii) asparagine (N) or serine (S) at amino acid position 107        using AHo numbering system (amino acid position 93 using Kabat        numbering system);-   d) for a human Vkappa1 family light chain variable region, preferred    amino acids are:    -   (i) glutamic acid (E) or isoleucine (I) at amino acid position 1        using AHo or Kabat numbering system;    -   (ii) valine (V) or isoleucine (I) at amino acid position 3 using        AHo or Kabat numbering system;    -   (iii) valine (V), leucine (L) or isoleucine (I) at amino acid        position 4 using AHo or Kabat numbering system;    -   (iv) glutamine (Q) at amino acid position 24 using AHo or Kabat        numbering system;    -   (v) arginine (R) or isoleucine (I) at amino acid position 47        using AHo numbering system (amino acid position 39 using Kabat        numbering system);    -   (vi) arginine (R), glutamic acid (E) threonine (T),        methionine (M) or glutamine (Q) at amino acid position 50 using        AHo numbering system (amino acid position 42 using Kabat        numbering system);    -   (vii) histidine (H), serine (S) or phenylalanine (F) at amino        acid position 57 using AHo numbering system (amino acid position        49 using Kabat numbering system);    -   (viii) phenylalanine (F) at amino acid position 91 using AHo        numbering system (amino acid position 73 using Kabat numbering        system); and/or    -   (ix) valine (V), serine (S), glycine (G) or isoleucine (I) at        amino acid position 103 using AHo numbering system (amino acid        position 85 using Kabat numbering system);-   e) for a human Vkappa3 family light chain variable region, the    preferred amino acids are:    -   (i) threonine (T) at amino acid position 2 using AHo or Kabat        numbering system;    -   (ii) threonine (T) at amino acid position 3 using AHo or Kabat        numbering system;    -   (iii) isoleucine (I) at amino acid position 10 using AHo or        Kabat numbering system;    -   (iv) tyrosine (Y) at amino acid position 12 using AHo or Kabat        numbering system;    -   (v) serine (S) at amino acid position 18 using AHo or Kabat        numbering system;    -   (vi) alanine (A) at amino acid position 20 using AHo or Kabat        numbering system;    -   (vii) methionine (M) at amino acid position 56 using AHo        numbering system (amino acid position 48 using Kabat numbering        system);    -   (viii) valine (V) or threonine (T) at amino acid position 74        using AHo numbering system (amino acid position 58 using Kabat        numbering system);    -   (ix) asparagine (N) at amino acid position 94 using AHo        numbering system (amino acid position 76 using Kabat numbering        system);    -   (x) tyrosine (Y) or serine (S) at amino acid position 101 using        AHo numbering system (amino acid position 83 using Kabat        numbering system); and/or    -   (xi) leucine (L) or alanine (A) at amino acid position 103 using        AHo numbering (amino acid position 85 using Kabat numbering);-   f) for a human Vlambda1 family light chain variable region,    preferred amino acids are:    -   (i) leucine (L), serine (S) or glutamic acid (E) at amino acid        position 1 using AHo or Kabat numbering system;    -   (ii) alanine (A), proline (P), isoleucine (I) or tyrosine (Y) at        amino acid position 2 using AHo or Kabat numbering system;    -   (iii) valine (V) or methionine (M) at amino acid position 4        using AHo or Kabat numbering system;    -   (iv) glutamic acid (E) at amino acid position 7 using AHo or        Kabat numbering system;    -   (v) alanine (A) at amino acid position 11 using AHo or Kabat        numbering system;    -   (vi) threonine (T) or serine (S) at amino acid position 14 using        AHo or Kabat numbering system;    -   (vii) histidine (H) at amino acid position 46 using AHo        numbering system (amino acid position 38 using Kabat numbering        system);    -   (viii) threonine (T), serine (S), asparagine (N), glutamine (Q)        or proline (P) at amino acid position 53 using AHo numbering        system (amino acid position 45 using Kabat numbering system);    -   (ix) arginine (R) or glutamine (Q) at amino acid position 82        using AHo numbering system (amino acid position 66 using Kabat        numbering system);    -   (x) glycine (G), threonine (T) or aspartic acid (D) at amino        acid position 92 using AHo numbering system (amino acid position        74 using Kabat numbering system); and/or    -   (xi) valine (V), threonine (T), histidine (H) or glutamic        acid (E) at amino acid position 103 using AHo numbering (amino        acid position 85 using Kabat numbering).

Accordingly, substitutions made in the present method preferably followthe teachings of PCT/CH2008/000285. The subtype determination is knownto the person skilled in the art.

In one embodiment, a method of the invention comprises modification ofan antibody at AHo position 47 and/or 50 of the variable light chain, inparticular of a Vkappa1 variable light chain. Preferably, the antibodyis modified to comprise arginine (R) at AHo position 47 and/or at AHoposition 50 of the variable light chain. In some embodiments, lysine (K)is substituted by arginine (R) at AHo position 47 and/or AHo position 50of the variable light chain. As the antibodies of the invention cancomprise additional modifications as desired, the methods of theinvention can comprise the further step of modifying the antibody suchas to comprise Serine (S) at heavy chain position 12 (AHo numbering);Serine (S) or Threonine (T) at heavy chain position 103 (AHo numbering)and/or Serine (S) or Threonine (T) at heavy chain position 144 (AHonumbering). Additionally, the antibody can be modified to compriseSerine (S) or Threonine (T) at heavy chain positions 97, 98 and/or 99(AHo numbering). Preferably, the method comprises the step of modifyingthe antibody to comprise Serine (S) at heavy chain position 12 (AHonumbering), Threonine (T) at heavy chain position 103 (AHo numbering)and Threonine (T) at heavy chain position 144 (AHo numbering).

The invention further provides a method of generating a humanizedantibody with a low propensity for aggregating in solution, the methodcomprising selecting a variable light chain framework that comprisesarginine (R) at AHo position 47 and/or at AHo position 50. The methodmay further comprise selecting a variable heavy chain framework thatcomprises a serine (S) at heavy chain position 12 (AHo numbering);serine (S) or threonine (T) at heavy chain position 103 (AHo numbering)and/or serine (S) or threonine (T) at heavy chain position 144 (AHonumbering). In one embodiment, a framework identified based on a chosenselection criteria may be further modified with an aggregation-reducingmodification of the invention. For example, if a varibable light chainframework is identified that has an arginine (R) at position 50, theresidue at AHo position may be substituted with a different amino acid,such as arginine (R), or if a variable heavy chain is identified thathas a serine (S) at AHo position 12, the residues at AHo positions 103and 144 may be substituted with threonines.

As used herein, a “humanized” antibody is an antibody that comprisesnon-human CDRs and human or human-derived variable heavy and/or human orhuman-derived variable light chain framework sequences. Humanization ofantibodies is well known in the art. In one embodiment, the humanizedantibody comprises at least one, and preferably six, CDRs from anantibody produced in a rabbit or selected from a CDR library.

The variable antibody frameworks can be selected, for example, from adatabase (such as the Kabat database, Genbank(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/), VBASE(http://vbase.mrc-cpe.cam.ac.uk/), VBASE2 (http://www.vbase2.org/), TheKabat Database of Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest(http://www.kabatdatabase.com/index.html), the Universal ProteinResource (UniProt; http://pir.georgetown.edu/), and Abysis Database(http://www.bioinforg.uk/abs/), based on identity and/or similarity withthe variable framework sequences of the antibody from which the CDRsoriginated, or based on otherwise preferred framework sequence(s).

Various computer programs are available for searching suitable humanframework sequences that meet the selected requirement(s). For example,“KabatMan” is a computer-searchable version of the Kabat antibodysequence data from the Sequences of Immunological Interest book. TheKabatMan program is described in the paper: Martin (1996) Accessing theKabat Antibody Sequence Database by Computer PROTEINS: Structure,Function and Genetics, 25, 130-133, and is available athttp://www.bioinf.org.uk/abs/simkab.html, andhttp://www.bioinf.org.uk/abs/kabatman.html. The Abysis database, athttp://www.bioinf.org.uk/abysis/, integrates sequence data from Kabat,IMGT and the PDB with structural data from the PDB. It provides acomprehensive point-and-click interface which allows one to search thesequence data on various criteria and display results in differentformats. For data from the PDB, sequence searches can be combined withstructural constraints.

In another aspect, the invention provides an antibody generated by themethod disclosed herein. In a preferred embodiment, said antibodycomprises a VL antibody framework having at least 80% identity, morepreferably 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, more preferably 99% to SEQ IDNO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 13; preferably, the antibody comprises arginine (R)at AHo position 47 and/or at AHo position 50 of the variable lightchain.

Additionally or alternatively, the VH antibody framework is or comprisesSEQ ID NO: 3 or a sequence having at least 80% identity, morepreferably, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, more preferably 99% to SEQ IDNO: 3.

In certain embodiments, the invention further provides:

-   (1) A method for reducing the aggregation propensity of an antibody    being a heterodimeric complex that comprises heavy and light    variable domains, the method comprising the steps of:    -   (a) providing a full atomistic molecular presentation of the        antibody;    -   (b) determining the free energy of the interface between both        domains;    -   (c) choosing one or more amino acid residues participating in        the interface for substitution by providing a molecular model of        the antibody comprising the one or more substitutions at the        selected positions and determining the free energy of the        interface of the substituted molecular presentation;    -   (d) selecting an amino acid residue for substitution if the free        energy of the interface of the substituted molecular model is        lower than the free energy of the interface of the initial        molecular model;-   (2) A method of (1), wherein the free energy of the interface is    determined by calculating the energy difference between the complex    and the sum of the energies of the individual domains in the context    of an implicit solvent method;-   (3) The method of (2), wherein the solvent is GBMV or PBSA;-   (4) The method of anyone of the preceding (1)-(3), further    comprising the step of    -   (i) simulating the charge distribution of the protein, wherein        said step is performed within step a and b;-   (5) The method of (4), wherein the charge distribution is simulated    based on electrostatic or van der Waals forces;-   (6) The method of anyone of the preceding (1)-(5), wherein step (c)    comprises the additional step of energy minimization in the area    around the mutation;-   (7) The method of anyone of the preceding (1)-(7), wherein the    antibody is a single chain variable fragment (scFv).

Antibodies of the invention may be generated using routine techniques inthe field of recombinant genetics. Knowing the sequences of thepolypeptides, the cDNAs encoding them can be generated by gene synthesisby methods well known in the art. These cDNAs can be cloned intosuitable vector plasmids.

Standard cloning and mutagenesis techniques well known to the personskilled in the art can be used to attach linkers, shuffle domains orconstruct fusions for the production of Fab fragments. Basic protocolsdisclosing the general methods of this invention are described inMolecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual (Sambrook & Russell, 3^(rd) ed.2001) and in Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (Ausubel et al.,1999).

The DNA sequence harboring a gene encoding a scFv polypeptide, or in thecase of Fab fragments, encoding either two separate genes or abi-cistronic operon comprising the two genes for the VL-Cκ and theVH-CH1 fusions are cloned in a suitable expression vector, preferablyone with an inducible promoter. Care must be taken that in front of eachgene an appropriate ribosome binding site is present that ensurestranslation. It is to be understood that the antibodies of the presentinvention comprise the disclosed sequences rather than they consist ofthem. For example, cloning strategies may require that a construct ismade from which an antibody with one or a few additional residues at theN-terminal end are present. Specifically, the methionine derived fromthe start codon may be present in the final protein in cases where ithas not been cleaved posttranslationally. Most of the constructs forscFv antibodies give rise to an additional alanine at the N-terminalend. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an expressionvector for periplasmic expression in E. coli is chosen (Krebber, 1997).Said vector comprises a promoter in front of a cleavable signalsequence. The coding sequence for the antibody peptide is then fused inframe to the cleavable signal sequence. This allows the targeting of theexpressed polypeptide to the bacterial periplasm where the signalsequence is cleaved. The antibody is then folded. In the case of the Fabfragments, both the VL-Cκ and the VH-CH1 fusions peptides must be linkedto an export signal. The covalent S—S bond is formed at the C-terminalcysteines after the peptides have reached the periplasm. If cytoplasmicexpression of antibodies is preferred, said antibodies usually can beobtained at high yields from inclusion bodies, which can be easilyseparated from other cellular fragments and protein. In this case theinclusion bodies are solubilized in a denaturing agent such as e.g.guaridine hydrochloride (GndHCl) and then refolded by renaturationprocedures well known to those skilled in the art.

Plasmids expressing the scFv or Fab polypeptides are introduced into asuitable host, preferably a bacterial, yeast or mammalian cell, mostpreferably a suitable E. coli strain as for example JM83 for periplasmicexpression or BL21 for expression in inclusion bodies. The polypeptidecan be harvested either from the periplasm or form inclusion bodies andpurified using standard techniques such as ion exchange chromatography,reversed phase chromatography, affinity chromatography and/or gelfiltration known to the person skilled in the art.

Antibodies of the invention can be characterized with respect to yield,solubility and stability in vitro. For example, binding capacitiestowards TNF, preferably towards human TNFα, can be tested in vitro byELISA or surface plasmon resonance (BIACore), using recombinant humanTNF as described in WO9729131, the latter method also allowing todetermine the k_(off) rate constant, which should preferably be lessthan 10⁻³s⁻¹. K_(d) values of ≦10 nM are preferred.

In one embodiment, the present invention provides antibodies that bindTNFα and thus are suitable to block the function of TNFα in vivo. In aparticular embodiment, the anti-TNFα antibody comprises the sequence ofSEQ ID NO: 10 or SEQ ID NO: 17.

For therapeutic applications, anti-TNF antibodies of the invention areadministered to a mammal, preferably a human, in a pharmaceuticallyacceptable dosage form such as those discussed above, including thosethat may be administered to a human intravenously as a bolus or bycontinuous infusion over a period of time, by intramuscular,intraperitoneal, intra-cerebrospinal, subcutaneous, intra-articular,intrasynovial, intrathecal, oral, topical, intraocular, intranasal,otic, sublingual, transdermal, or inhalation routes, for example. Theantibodies also are suitably administered by intra tumoral, peritumoral,intralesional, or perilesional routes, to exert local as well assystemic therapeutic effects.

For the prevention or treatment of disease, the appropriate dosage ofantibody will depend on the type of disease to be treated, as definedabove, the severity and course of the disease, whether the antibody isadministered for preventive or therapeutic purposes, previous therapy,the patient's clinical history and response to the antibody, and thediscretion of the attending physician. The antibody is suitablyadministered to the patient at one time or over a series of treatments.

Anti-TNF antibodies of the invention are useful in the treatment ofTNF-mediated diseases. Depending on the type and severity of thedisease, about 1 μg/kg to about 50 mg/kg (e.g., 0.1-20 mg/kg) ofantibody is an initial candidate dosage for administration to thepatient, whether, for example, by one or more separate administrations,or by continuous infusion. A typical daily or weekly dosage might rangefrom about 1 g/kg to about 20 mg/kg or more, depending on the factorsmentioned above. For repeated administrations over several days orlonger, depending on the condition, the treatment is repeated until adesired suppression of disease symptoms occurs. However, other dosageregimens may be useful.

The progress of this therapy is easily monitored by conventionaltechniques and assays, including, for example, radiographic tumorimaging.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the effectiveness ofthe antibody in preventing or treating disease may be improved byadministering the antibody serially or in combination with another agentthat is effective for those purposes, such as vascular endothelialgrowth factor (VEGF), an antibody capable of inhibiting or neutralizingthe angiogenic activity of acidic or basic fibroblast growth factor(FGF) or hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), an antibody capable ofinhibiting or neutralizing the coagulant activities of tissue factor,protein C, or protein S (see Esmon et al., PCT Patent Publication No. WO91/01753, published 21 Feb. 1991), an antibody capable of binding toHER2 receptor (see Hudziak et al., PCT Patent Publication No. WO89/06692, published 27 Jul. 1989), or one or more conventionaltherapeutic agents such as, for example, alkylating agents, folic acidantagonists, anti-metabolites of nucleic acid metabolism, antibiotics,pyrimidine analogs, 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, purine nucleosides,amines, amino acids, triazol nucleosides, or corticosteroids. Such otheragents may be present in the composition being administered or may beadministered separately. Also, the antibody is suitably administeredserially or in combination with radiological treatments, whetherinvolving irradiation or administration of radioactive substances.

Antibodies of the invention may be used as affinity purification agents.In this process, the antibodies are immobilized on a solid phase such aSephadex resin or filter paper, using methods well known in the art. Theimmobilized antibody is contacted with a sample containing a targetprotein (or fragment thereof) that the antibody binds, such as TNF inthe case of anti-TNFα antibodies, to be purified, and thereafter thesupport is washed with a suitable solvent that will remove substantiallyall the material in the sample except the target protein, which is boundto the immobilized antibody. Finally, the support is washed with anothersuitable solvent, such as glycine buffer, pH 5.0, that will release thetarget protein from the antibody.

Antibodies may also be useful in diagnostic assays for a target protein,e.g., detecting its expression in specific cells, tissues, or serum.Such diagnostic methods may be useful in cancer diagnosis.

For diagnostic applications, the antibody typically will be labeled witha detectable moiety. Numerous labels are available which can begenerally grouped into the following categories:

(a) Radioisotopes such as ¹¹¹In, ⁹⁹Tc, ¹⁴C, ¹³¹I, ¹²⁵I, ³H, ³²P or ³⁵S.The antibody can be labeled with the radioisotope using the techniquesdescribed in Current Protocols in Immunology, Volumes 1 and 2, Coligenet al., Ed. Wiley-Interscience, New York, N.Y., Pubs. (1991) for exampleand radioactivity can be measured using scintillation counting.

(b) Fluorescent labels such as rare earth chelates (europium chelates)or fluorescein and its derivatives, rhodamine and its derivatives,dansyl, Lissamine, phycoerythrin and Texas Red are available. Thefluorescent labels can be conjugated to the antibody using thetechniques disclosed in Current Protocols in Immunology, supra, forexample. Fluorescence can be quantified using a fluorimeter.

(c) Various enzyme-substrate labels are available and U.S. Pat. No.4,275,149 provides a review of some of these. The enzyme generallycatalyzes a chemical alteration of the chromogenic substrate which canbe measured using various techniques. For example, the enzyme maycatalyze a color change in a substrate, which can be measuredspectrophotometrically. Alternatively, the enzyme may alter thefluorescence or chemiluminescence of the substrate. Techniques forquantifying a change in fluorescence are described above. Thechemiluminescent substrate becomes electronically excited by a chemicalreaction and may then emit light which can be measured (using achemiluminometer, for example) or donates energy to a fluorescentacceptor. Examples of enzymatic labels include luciferases (e.g.,firefly luciferase and bacterial luciferase; U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,456),luciferin, 2,3-dihydrophthalazinediones, malate dehydrogenase, urease,peroxidase such as horseradish peroxidase (HRPO), alkaline phosphatase,.beta.-galactosidase, glucoamylase, lysozyme, saccharide oxidases (e.g.,glucose oxidase, galactose oxidase, and glucose-6-phosphatedehydrogenase), heterocyclic oxidases (such as uricase and xanthineoxidase), lactoperoxidase, microperoxidase, and the like. Techniques forconjugating enzymes to antibodies are described in O'Sullivan et al.,Methods for the Preparation of Enzyme-Antibody Conjugates for use inEnzyme Immunoassay, in Methods in Enzym. (ed J. Langone & H. VanVunakis), Academic press, New York, 73:147-166 (1981). Examples ofenzyme-substrate combinations include, for example:

(i) Horseradish peroxidase (HRPO) with hydrogen peroxidase as asubstrate, wherein the hydrogen peroxidase oxidizes a dye precursor(e.g., orthophenylene diamine (OPD) or 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethyl benzidinehydrochloride (TMB));

(ii) alkaline phosphatase (AP) with para-Nitrophenyl phosphate aschromogenic substrate; and

(iii) β-D-galactosidase(β-D-Gal) with a chromogenic substrate (e.g.,P-nitrophenyl-β-D-galactosidase) or fluorogenic substrate4-methylumbelliferyl-.beta.-D-galactosidase.

Numerous other enzyme-substrate combinations are available to thoseskilled in the art. For a general review of these, see U.S. Pat. Nos.4,275,149 and 4,318,980. Sometimes, the label is indirectly conjugatedwith the antibody. The skilled artisan will be aware of varioustechniques for achieving this. For example, the antibody can beconjugated with biotin and any of the three broad categories of labelsmentioned above can be conjugated with avidin, or vice versa. Biotinbinds selectively to avidin and thus, the label can be conjugated withthe antibody in this indirect manner. Alternatively, to achieve indirectconjugation of the label with the antibody, the antibody is conjugatedwith a small hapten (e.g., digoxin) and one of the different types oflabels mentioned above is conjugated with an anti-hapten antibody (e.g.,anti-digoxin antibody). Thus, indirect conjugation of the label with theantibody can be achieved.

In certain embodiments, an antibody need not be labeled, and thepresence thereof can be detected using a labeled antibody which binds toa target antibody.

The antibodies of the present invention may be employed in any knownassay method, such as competitive binding assays, direct and indirectsandwich assays, and immunoprecipitation assays. Zola, MonoclonalAntibodies: A Manual of Techniques, pp. 147-158 (CRC Press, Inc. 1987).

Competitive binding assays rely on the ability of a labeled standard tocompete with the test sample analyte for binding with a limited amountof antibody. For example, the amount of TNF protein in the test sampleis inversely proportional to the amount of standard that becomes boundto the antibodies. To facilitate determining the amount of standard thatbecomes bound, the antibodies generally are insolubilized before orafter the competition, so that the standard and analyte that are boundto the antibodies may conveniently be separated from the standard andanalyte which remain unbound.

Sandwich assays involve the use of two antibodies, each capable ofbinding to a different immunogenic portion, or epitope, of the proteinto be detected. In a sandwich assay, the test sample analyte is bound bya first antibody which is immobilized on a solid support, and thereaftera second antibody binds to the analyte, thus forming an insolublethree-part complex. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,110. The secondantibody may itself be labeled with a detectable moiety (direct sandwichassays) or may be measured using an anti-immunoglobulin antibody that islabeled with a detectable moiety (indirect sandwich assay). For example,one type of sandwich assay is an ELISA assay, in which case thedetectable moiety is an enzyme.

For immunohistochemistry, the tissue sample, such as a tumor sample, maybe fresh or frozen or may be embedded in paraffin and fixed with apreservative such as formalin, for example.

The antibodies may also be used for in vivo tumor diagnostic assays.Generally, the antibody is labeled with a radio nuclide (such as ¹¹¹In,⁹⁹Tc, 14C, ¹³¹I, ¹²⁵I, ³H, ³²P or ³⁵S) so that the tumor can belocalized using immunoscintiography.

An antibody of the present invention can be provided in a kit, apackaged combination of reagents in predetermined amounts withinstructions for performing the diagnostic assay. Where the antibody islabeled with an enzyme, the kit will include substrates and cofactorsrequired by the enzyme (e.g., a substrate precursor which provides thedetectable chromophore or fluorophore). In addition, other additives maybe included such as stabilizers, buffers (e.g., a block buffer or lysisbuffer) and the like. The relative amounts of the various reagents maybe varied widely to provide for concentrations in solution of thereagents which substantially optimize the sensitivity of the assay.Particularly, the reagents may be provided as dry powders, usuallylyophilized, including excipients which on dissolution will provide areagent solution having the appropriate concentration.

The invention further provides pharmaceutical formulations comprisingone or more antibodies of the invention for therapeutic purposes. In oneembodiment, the invention provides anti-TNF antibodies for the treatmentof TNF-mediated diseases.

The term “pharmaceutical formulation” refers to preparations which arein such form as to permit the biological activity of the antibody to beunequivocally effective, and which contain no additional componentswhich are toxic to the subjects to which the formulation would beadministered. “Pharmaceutically acceptable” excipients (vehicles,additives) are those which can reasonably be administered to a subjectmammal to provide an effective dose of the active ingredient employed.

A “stable” formulation is one in which the antibody therein essentiallyretains its physical stability and/or chemical stability and/orbiological activity upon storage. Various analytical techniques formeasuring protein stability are available in the art and are reviewed inPeptide and Protein Drug Delivery, 247-301, Vincent Lee Ed., MarcelDekker, Inc., New York, N.Y., Pubs. (1991) and Jones, A. Adv. DrugDelivery Rev. 10: 29-90 (1993), for example. Stability can be measuredat a selected temperature for a selected time period. Preferably, theformulation is stable at room temperature (about 30° C.) or at 40° C.for at least 1 month and/or stable at about 2-8° C. for at least 1 yearfor at least 2 years. Furthermore, the formulation is preferably stablefollowing freezing (to, e.g., −70° C.) and thawing of the formulation.

An antibody “retains its physical stability” in a pharmaceuticalformulation if it shows no signs of aggregation, precipitation and/ordenaturation upon visual examination of color and/or clarity, or asmeasured by UV light scattering or by size exclusion chromatography.

An antibody “retains its chemical stability” in a pharmaceuticalformulation, if the chemical stability at a given time is such that theprotein is considered to still retain its biological activity as definedbelow. Chemical stability can be assessed by detecting and quantifyingchemically altered forms of the protein. Chemical alteration may involvesize modification (e.g. clipping) which can be evaluated using sizeexclusion chromatography, SDS-PAGE and/or matrix-assisted laserdesorption ionization/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI/TOF MS),for example. Other types of chemical alteration include chargealteration (e.g. occurring as a result of deamidation) which can beevaluated by ion-exchange chromatography, for example.

An antibody “retains its biological activity” in a pharmaceuticalformulation, if the biological activity of the antibody at a given timeis within about 10% (within the errors of the assay) of the biologicalactivity exhibited at the time the pharmaceutical formulation wasprepared as determined in an antigen binding assay, for example. Other“biological activity” assays for antibodies are elaborated herein below.

By “isotonic” is meant that the formulation of interest has essentiallythe same osmotic pressure as human blood. Isotonic formulations willgenerally have an osmotic pressure from about 250 to 350 mOsm.Isotonicity can be measured using a vapor pressure or ice-freezing typeosmometer, for example.

A “polyol” is a substance with multiple hydroxyl groups, and includessugars (reducing and non-reducing sugars), sugar alcohols and sugaracids. Preferred polyols herein have a molecular weight which is lessthan about 600 kD (e.g. in the range from about 120 to about 400 kD). A“reducing sugar” is one which contains a hemiacetal group that canreduce metal ions or react covalently with lysine and other amino groupsin proteins and a “non-reducing sugar” is one which does not have theseproperties of a reducing sugar. Examples of reducing sugars arefructose, mannose, maltose, lactose, arabinose, xylose, ribose,rhamnose, galactose and glucose. Non-reducing sugars include sucrose,trehalose, sorbose, melezitose and raffinose. Mannitol, xylitol,erythritol, threitol, sorbitol and glycerol are examples of sugaralcohols. As to sugar acids, these include L-gluconate and metallicsalts thereof. Where it is desired that the formulation is freeze-thawstable, the polyol is preferably one which does not crystallize atfreezing temperatures (e.g. −20° C.) such that it destabilizes theantibody in the formulation. Non-reducing sugars include, but are notlimited to, sucrose and trehalose.

As used herein, “buffer” refers to a buffered solution that resistschanges in pH by the action of its acid-base conjugate components. Thebuffer of this invention has a pH in the range from about 4.5 to about7.0; preferably from about 4.8 to about 6.5. Examples of buffers thatwill control the pH in this range include acetate (e.g. sodium acetate),succinate (such as sodium succinate), gluconate, histidine, citrate andother organic acid buffers. Where a freeze-thaw stable formulation isdesired, the buffer is preferably not phosphate.

In a pharmacological sense, in the context of the present invention, a“therapeutically effective amount” of an antibody refers to an amounteffective in the prevention or treatment of a disorder for the treatmentof which the antibody is effective. A “disease/disorder” is anycondition that would benefit from treatment with the antibody. Thisincludes chronic and acute disorders or diseases including thosepathological conditions which predispose the mammal to the disorder inquestion.

A “preservative” is a compound which can be included in the formulationto essentially reduce bacterial action therein, thus facilitating theproduction of a multi-use formulation, for example. Examples ofpotential preservatives include octadecyldimethylbenzyl ammoniumchloride, hexamethonium chloride, benzalkonium chloride (a mixture ofalkylbenzyldimethylammonium chlorides in which the alkyl groups arelong-chain compounds), and benzethonium chloride. Other types ofpreservatives include aromatic alcohols such as phenol, butyl and benzylalcohol, alkyl parabens such as methyl or propyl paraben, catechol,resorcinol, cyclohexanol, 3-pentanol, and m-cresol. The most preferredpreservative herein is benzyl alcohol.

The present invention also provides pharmaceutical compositionscomprising one or more antibodies, together with at least onephysiologically acceptable carrier or excipient. Pharmaceuticalcompositions may comprise, for example, one or more of water, buffers(e.g., neutral buffered saline or phosphate buffered saline), ethanol,mineral oil, vegetable oil, dimethylsulfoxide, carbohydrates (e.g.,glucose, mannose, sucrose or dextrans), mannitol, proteins, adjuvants,polypeptides or amino acids such as glycine, antioxidants, chelatingagents such as EDTA or glutathione and/or preservatives. As noted above,other active ingredients may (but need not) be included in thepharmaceutical compositions provided herein.

A carrier is a substance that may be associated with an antibody priorto administration to a patient, often for the purpose of controllingstability or bioavailability of the compound. Carriers for use withinsuch formulations are generally biocompatible, and may also bebiodegradable. Carriers include, for example, monovalent or multivalentmolecules such as serum albumin (e.g., human or bovine), egg albumin,peptides, polylysine and polysaccharides such as aminodextran andpolyamidoamines. Carriers also include solid support materials such asbeads and microparticles comprising, for example, polylactatepolyglycolate, poly(lactide-co-glycolide), polyacrylate, latex, starch,cellulose or dextran. A carrier may bear the compounds in a variety ofways, including covalent bonding (either directly or via a linkergroup), noncovalent interaction or admixture.

Pharmaceutical compositions may be formulated for any appropriate mannerof administration, including, for example, ocular, intranasal, otic,sublingual, transdermal, topical, oral, nasal, rectal or parenteraladministration. In certain embodiments, compositions in a form suitablefor oral use are preferred. Such forms include, for example, pills,tablets, troches, lozenges, aqueous or oily suspensions, dispersiblepowders or granules, emulsion, hard or soft capsules, or syrups orelixirs. Within yet other embodiments, compositions provided herein maybe formulated as a lyophilizate. The term parenteral as used hereinincludes subcutaneous, intradermal, intravascular (e.g., intravenous),intramuscular, spinal, intracranial, intrathecal and intraperitonealinjection, as well as any similar injection or infusion technique.

In certain embodiments, an antibody of the invention can be delivereddirectly to the eye by ocular tissue injection such as periocular,conjunctival, subtenon, intracameral, intravitreal, intraocular,subretinal, subconjunctival, retrobulbar, or intracanalicularinjections; by direct application to the eye using a catheter or otherplacement device such as a retinal pellet, intraocular insert,suppository or an implant comprising a porous, non-porous, or gelatinousmaterial; by topical ocular drops or ointments; or by a slow releasedevice in the cul-de-sac or implanted adjacent to the sclera(transscleral) or in the sclera (intrascleral) or within the eye.Intracameral injection may be through the cornea into the anteriorchamber to allow the agent to reach the trabecular meshwork.Intracanalicular injection may be into the venous collector channelsdraining Schlemm's canal or into Schlemm's canal.

For ophthalmic delivery, an antibody of the invention may be combinedwith ophthalmologically acceptable preservatives, co-solvents,surfactants, viscosity enhancers, penetration enhancers, buffers, sodiumchloride, or water to form an aqueous, sterile ophthalmic suspension orsolution. Topical ophthalmic products may be packaged, for example, inmultidose form. Preservatives may thus be required to prevent microbialcontamination during use. Suitable preservatives include: chlorobutanol,methyl paraben, propyl paraben, phenylethyl alcohol, edetate disodium,sorbic acid, polyquaternium-1, or other agents known to those skilled inthe art. Such preservatives are typically employed at a level of from0.001 to 1.0% w/v. Unit dose compositions of the present invention willbe sterile, but typically unpreserved. Such compositions, therefore,generally will not contain preservatives.

In certain embodiments, compositions intended to be administeredtopically to the eye are formulated as eye drops or eye ointments,wherein the total amount of antibody will be about 0.001 to 1.0% (w/w).Preferably, the amount of TNFα antibody is about 0.01 to about 1.0%(w/w).

Compositions of the invention in certain circumstances will beadministered as solutions for topical administration. Aqueous solutionsare generally preferred, based on ease of formulation, as well as apatient's ability to easily administer such compositions by means ofinstilling one to two drops of the solutions in the affected eyes.However, the compositions may also be suspensions, viscous orsemi-viscous gels, or other types of solid or semi-solid compositions.

Compositions intended for oral use may be prepared according to anymethod known to the art for the manufacture of pharmaceuticalcompositions and may contain one or more agents, such as sweeteningagents, flavoring agents, coloring agent, and preserving agents in orderto provide appealing and palatable preparations. Tablets contain theactive ingredient in admixture with physiologically acceptableexcipients that are suitable for the manufacture of tablets. Suchexcipients include, for example, inert diluents (e.g., calciumcarbonate, sodium carbonate, lactose, calcium phosphate or sodiumphosphate), granulating and disintegrating agents (e.g., corn starch oralginic acid), binding agents (e.g., starch, gelatin or acacia) andlubricating agents (e.g., magnesium stearate, stearic acid or talc). Thetablets may be uncoated or they may be coated by known techniques todelay disintegration and absorption in the gastrointestinal tract andthereby provide a sustained action over a longer period. For example, atime delay material such as glyceryl monosterate or glyceryl distearatemay be employed.

Formulations for oral use may also be presented as hard gelatin capsuleswherein the active ingredient is mixed with an inert solid diluent(e.g., calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate or kaolin), or as softgelatin capsules wherein the active ingredient is mixed with water or anoil medium (e.g., peanut oil, liquid paraffin or olive oil). Aqueoussuspensions contain the antibody in admixture with excipients suitablefor the manufacture of aqueous suspensions. Such excipients includesuspending agents (e.g., sodium carboxymethylcellulose, methylcellulose,hydropropylmethylcellulose, sodium alginate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, gumtragacanth and gum acacia); and dispersing or wetting agents (e.g.,naturally-occurring phosphatides such as lecithin, condensation productsof an alkylene oxide with fatty acids such as polyoxyethylene stearate,condensation products of ethylene oxide with long chain aliphaticalcohols such as heptadecaethyleneoxycetanol, condensation products ofethylene oxide with partial esters derived from fatty acids and ahexitol such as polyoxyethylene sorbitol monooleate, or condensationproducts of ethylene oxide with partial esters derived from fatty acidsand hexitol anhydrides such as polyethylene sorbitan monooleate).Aqueous suspensions may also comprise one or more preservatives, forexample ethyl or n-propyl p-hydroxybenzoate, one or more coloringagents, one or more flavoring agents, and one or more sweetening agents,such as sucrose or saccharin. Syrups and elixirs may be formulated withsweetening agents, such as glycerol, propylene glycol, sorbitol, orsucrose. Such formulations may also comprise one or more demulcents,preservatives, flavoring agents, and/or coloring agents.

Oily suspensions may be formulated by suspending the active ingredientsin a vegetable oil (e.g., arachis oil, olive oil, sesame oil, or coconutoil) or in a mineral oil such as liquid paraffin. The oily suspensionsmay contain a thickening agent such as beeswax, hard paraffin, or cetylalcohol. Sweetening agents, such as those set forth above, and/orflavoring agents may be added to provide palatable oral preparations.Such suspensions may be preserved by the addition of an anti-oxidantsuch as ascorbic acid.

Dispersible powders and granules suitable for preparation of an aqueoussuspension by the addition of water provide the active ingredient inadmixture with a dispersing or wetting agent, suspending agent and oneor more preservatives. Suitable dispersing or wetting agents andsuspending agents are exemplified by those already mentioned above.Additional excipients, for example sweetening, flavoring and coloringagents, may also be present.

Pharmaceutical compositions may also be in the form of oil-in-wateremulsions. The oily phase may be a vegetable oil (e.g., olive oil orarachis oil), a mineral oil (e.g., liquid paraffin), or a mixturethereof. Suitable emulsifying agents include naturally-occurring gums(e.g., gum acacia or gum tragacanth), naturally-occurring phosphatides(e.g., soy bean, lecithin, and esters or partial esters derived fromfatty acids and hexitol), anhydrides (e.g., sorbitan monoleate), andcondensation products of partial esters derived from fatty acids andhexitol with ethylene oxide (e.g., polyoxyethylene sorbitan monoleate).An emulsion may also comprise one or more sweetening and/or flavoringagents.

The pharmaceutical composition may be prepared as a sterile injectibleaqueous or oleaginous suspension in which the modulator, depending onthe vehicle and concentration used, is either suspended or dissolved inthe vehicle. Such a composition may be formulated according to the knownart using suitable dispersing, wetting agents and/or suspending agentssuch as those mentioned above. Among the acceptable vehicles andsolvents that may be employed are water, 1,3-butanediol, Ringer'ssolution and isotonic sodium chloride solution. In addition, sterile,fixed oils may be employed as a solvent or suspending medium. For thispurpose any bland fixed oil may be employed, including synthetic mono-or diglycerides. In addition, fatty acids such as oleic acid may be usedin the preparation of injectible compositions, and adjuvants such aslocal anesthetics, preservatives and/or buffering agents can bedissolved in the vehicle.

Pharmaceutical compositions may be formulated as sustained releaseformulations (i.e., a formulation such as a capsule that affects a slowrelease of modulator following administration). Such formulations maygenerally be prepared using well known technology and administered by,for example, oral, rectal, or subcutaneous implantation, or byimplantation at the desired target site. Carriers for use within suchformulations are biocompatible, and may also be biodegradable;preferably the formulation provides a relatively constant level ofmodulator release. The amount of an antibody contained within asustained release formulation depends upon, for example, the site ofimplantation, the rate and expected duration of release and the natureof the disease/disorder to be treated or prevented.

Anti-TNFα antibodies provided herein can be administered in an amountthat achieves a concentration in a body fluid (e.g., blood, plasma,serum, CSF, synovial fluid, lymph, cellular interstitial fluid, tears orurine) that is sufficient to detectably bind to TNF and prevent orinhibit TNF-mediated diseases/disorders. A dose is considered to beeffective if it results in a discernible patient benefit as describedherein. Preferred systemic doses range from about 0.1 mg to about 140 mgper kilogram of body weight per day (about 0.5 mg to about 7 g perpatient per day), with oral doses generally being about 5-20 fold higherthan intravenous doses. The amount of antibody that may be combined withthe carrier materials to produce a single dosage form will varydepending upon the host treated and the particular mode ofadministration. Dosage unit forms will generally contain between fromabout 1 mg to about 500 mg of an active ingredient.

In certain embodiments, pharmaceutical compositions may be packaged fortreating conditions responsive to an antibody directed to TNF. Packagedpharmaceutical compositions may include a container holding an effectiveamount of at least one antibody as described herein and instructions(e.g., labeling) indicating that the contained composition is to be usedfor treating a disease/disorder responsive to one antibody followingadministration in the patient.

The antibodies of the present invention can also be chemically modified.Preferred modifying groups are polymers, for example an optionallysubstituted straight or branched chain polyalkene, polyalkenylene, orpolyoxyalkylene polymer or a branched or unbranched polysaccharide. Sucheffector group may increase the half-life of the antibody in vivo.Particular examples of synthetic polymers include optionally substitutedstraight or branched chain poly(ethyleneglycol) (PEG),poly(propyleneglycol), poly(vinylalcohol) or derivatives thereof.Particular naturally occurring polymers include lactose, amylose,dextran, glycogen or derivatives thereof. The size of the polymer may bevaried as desired, but will generally be in an average molecular weightrange from 500 Da to 50000 Da. For local application where the antibodyis designed to penetrate tissue, a preferred molecular weight of thepolymer is around 5000 Da. The polymer molecule can be attached to theantibody, for example to the C-terminal end of a Fab fragment heavychain via a covalently linked hinge peptide as described in WO00194585.Regarding the attachment of PEG moieties, reference is made to“Poly(ethyleneglycol) Chemistry, Biotechnological and BiomedicalApplications”, 1992, J. Milton Harris (ed), Plenum Press, New York and“Bioconjugation Protein Coupling Techniques for the BiomedicalSciences”, 1998, M. Aslam and A. Dent, Grove Publishers, New York.

After preparation of the antibody of interest as described above, thepharmaceutical formulation comprising it is prepared. The antibody to beformulated has not been subjected to prior lyophilization and theformulation of interest herein is an aqueous formulation. Preferably theantibody in the formulation is an antibody fragment, such as an scFv.The therapeutically effective amount of antibody present in theformulation is determined by taking into account the desired dosevolumes and mode(s) of administration, for example. From about 0.1 mg/mlto about 50 mg/ml, preferably from about 0.5 mg/ml to about 25 mg/ml andmost preferably from about 2 mg/ml to about 10 mg/ml is an exemplaryantibody concentration in the formulation.

An aqueous formulation is prepared comprising the antibody in apH-buffered solution as described above. The buffer concentration can befrom about 1 mM to about 50 mM, preferably from about 5 mM to about 30mM, depending, for example, on the buffer and the desired isotonicity ofthe formulation.

A polyol, which acts as a tonicifier and may stabilize the antibody, isincluded in the formulation. In preferred embodiments, the formulationdoes not contain a tonicifying amount of a salt such as sodium chloride,as this may cause the antibody to precipitate and/or may result inoxidation at low pH. In preferred embodiments, the polyol is anon-reducing sugar, such as sucrose or trehalose. The polyol is added tothe formulation in an amount which may vary with respect to the desiredisotonicity of the formulation. Preferably the aqueous formulation isisotonic, in which case suitable concentrations of the polyol in theformulation are in the range from about 1% to about 15% w/v, preferablyin the range from about 2% to about 10% whv, for example. However,hypertonic or hypotonic formulations may also be suitable. The amount ofpolyol added may also alter with respect to the molecular weight of thepolyol. For example, a lower amount of a monosaccharide (e.g. mannitol)may be added, compared to a disaccharide (such as trehalose).

A surfactant may also be added to the antibody formulation. Exemplarysurfactants include nonionic surfactants such as polysorbates (e.g.polysorbates 20, 80 etc) or poloxamers (e.g. poloxamer 188). Typically,the amount of surfactant added is such that it reduces aggregation ofthe formulated antibody/antibody derivative and/or minimizes theformation of particulates in the formulation and/or reduces adsorption.For example, the surfactant may be present in the formulation in anamount from about 0.001% to about 0.5%, preferably from about 0.005% toabout 0.2% and most preferably from about 0.01% to about 0.1%.

In one embodiment, a formulation contains the above-identified agents(i.e. antibody, buffer, polyol and surfactant) and is essentially freeof one or more preservatives, such as benzyl alcohol, phenol, m-cresol,chlorobutanol and benzethonium Cl. In another embodiment, a preservativemay be included in the formulation, particularly where the formulationis a multidose formulation. The concentration of preservative may be inthe range from about 0.1% to about 2%, most preferably from about 0.5%to about 1%. One or more other pharmaceutically acceptable carriers,excipients or stabilizers such as those described in Remington'sPharmaceutical Sciences 21st edition, Osol, A. Ed. (2006) may beincluded in the formulation provided that they do not adversely affectthe desired characteristics of the formulation. Acceptable carriers,excipients or stabilizers are non-toxic to recipients at the dosages andconcentrations employed and include; additional buffering agents;co-solvents; antioxidants including ascorbic acid and methionine;chelating agents such as EDTA; metal complexes (e.g. Zn-proteincomplexes); biodegradable polymers such as polyesters; and/orsalt-forming counterions such as sodium.

The formulations to be used for in vivo administration must be sterile.This is readily accomplished by filtration through sterile filtrationmembranes, prior to, or following, preparation of the formulation.

The formulation is administered to a mammal in need of treatment withthe antibody, preferably a human, in accord with known methods, such asintravenous administration as a bolus or by continuous infusion over aperiod of time, by intramuscular, intraperitoneal, intracerobrospinal,subcutaneous, intra-articular, intrasynovial, intrathecal, oral,topical, or inhalation routes, or other routes as described herein. Incertain embodiments, the formulation is administered to the mammal byintravenous administration. For such purposes, the formulation may beinjected using a syringe or via an IV line, for example.

The appropriate dosage (“therapeutically effective amount”) of theantibody will depend, for example, on the condition to be treated, theseverity and course of the condition, whether the antibody isadministered for preventive or therapeutic purposes, previous therapy,the patient's clinical history and response to the antibody, the type ofantibody used, and the discretion of the attending physician. Theantibody is suitably administered to the patient at one time or over aseries of treatments and may be administered to the patient at any timefrom diagnosis onwards. The antibody may be administered as the soletreatment or in conjunction with other drugs or therapies useful intreating the condition in question.

As a general proposition, the therapeutically effective amount of theantibody administered will be in the range of about 0.1 to about 100mg/kg of patient body weight whether by one or more administrations,with the typical range of antibody used being about 0.3 to about 20mg/kg, more preferably about 0.3 to about 15 mg/kg, administered daily,for example. However, other dosage regimens may be useful. The progressof this therapy is easily monitored by conventional techniques.

In certain embodiments, pharmaceutical compositions comprising ananti-TNFα antibody of the invention are administered to a patientsuffering from a TNF-mediated disorder.

In another embodiment of the invention, an article of manufacture isprovided comprising a container which holds the aqueous pharmaceuticalformulation of the present invention and optionally providesinstructions for its use. Suitable containers include, for example,bottles, vials and syringes. The container may be formed from a varietyof materials such as glass or plastic. An exemplary container is a 3-20cc single use glass vial. Alternatively, for a multidose formulation,the container may be 3-100 cc glass vial. The container holds theformulation and the label on, or associated with, the container mayindicate directions for use. The article of manufacture may furtherinclude other materials desirable from a commercial and user standpoint,including other buffers, diluents, filters, needles, syringes, andpackage inserts with instructions for use.

The contents of any patents, patent applications, and references citedthroughout this specification are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entireties.

Unless otherwise required by context, singular terms used herein shallinclude pluralities and plural terms shall include the singular.

EXAMPLES

The present disclosure is further illustrated by the following examples,which should not be construed as further limiting. The contents of allfigures and all references, patents and published patent applicationscited throughout this application are expressly incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

Throughout the examples, the following materials and methods were usedunless otherwise stated.

General Materials and Methods

In general, the practice of the present invention employs, unlessotherwise indicated, conventional techniques of chemistry, molecularbiology, recombinant DNA technology, immunology (especially, e.g.,antibody technology), and standard techniques of polypeptidepreparation. See, e.g., Sambrook, Fritsch and Maniatis, MolecularCloning: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (1989); AntibodyEngineering Protocols (Methods in Molecular Biology), 510, Paul, S.,Humana Pr (1996); Antibody Engineering: A Practical Approach (PracticalApproach Series, 169), McCafferty, Ed., Irl Pr (1996); Antibodies: ALaboratory Manual, Harlow et al., C.S.H.L. Press, Pub. (1999); andCurrent Protocols in Molecular Biology, eds. Ausubel et al., John Wiley& Sons (1992).

Thermostability Measurements

Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform IR (FTIR-ATR) spectrawere obtained for various single chains and follow up molecules usingthe FT-IR Bio-ATR cell in a Tensor Bruker. The molecules wereconcentrated up to 3 mg/ml and dialyzed overnight at 4° C. against PBS,pH 6.5 and the buffer flow through was collected as blank. Thedenaturation profiles were obtained by thermo challenging the moleculeswith a broad range of temperatures in 5° C. steps (25 to 95° C.). Allspectra manipulations were performed using OPUS software. The mainbuffer and transient atmospheric (CO₂ and H₂O) background weresubstracted from the protein spectrum. The resulting protein spectrumwas then baseline corrected and the protein amide I spectra wasdetermined from the width of the widest resolvable peak in the expectedregion. Second derivative spectra were obtained for the amide I bandspectra using a third degree polynomial function with a smoothingfunction. Changes in protein structure were estimated by amide I secondderivative analysis using a linear calibration curve for the initialcurve-fit calculations assuming 0% denaturation for the 3 lowermeasurements and 100% denaturation for the 3 higher measurements. Thedenaturation profiles were used to approximate midpoints of the thermalunfolding transitions (TM) for every variant applying the Boltzmannsigmoidal model.

Solubility Measurements

Relative solubility of various scFv molecules was measured afterenhancing protein aggregation and precipitation in presence of ammoniumsulfate. Ammonium sulfate was added to the protein in aqueous solutionsto yield increments of 5% of saturation in the final mixturesalt-protein. The precipitation in the dynamic range was determinedempirically and the saturation intervals reduced in this range to 2.5%intervals saturation in the final mixture. After ammonium sulfateaddition, samples were gently mixed and centrifuged 30 minutes at 6000rpm. The remaining protein in supernatants was recovered for eachammonium sulfate percentage of saturation. Solubility curves weredetermined by measuring the protein concentration in the supernatantusing NanoDrop™ 1000 Spectrophotometer. Measurements of remainingsoluble protein in supernatants were normalized and used to estimatemidpoints of relative solubility for every variant applying theBoltzmann sigmoidal model.

Short Term Stability Test

Protein was examined after two weeks incubation at 40° C. for solubleaggregates and degradation products. Proteins with a concentration of 10mg/ml were dialyzed overnight at 4° C. against PBS with a broad range ofpHs (3.5, 4.5, 5.5, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5 and 8.5). Control protein with thesame concentration in standard buffer PBS (pH 6.5) was stored at −80° C.during the 2 weeks period. Determination of degradation bands bySDS-PAGE was done at t=0 and t=14 d time points and soluble aggregateswere assessed in the SEC-HPLC. Determination of remaining activity after2 weeks at 40° C. was done using Biacore.

EXAMPLE 1 Optimization of Anti-TNFα scFv Antibody, 34rFW1.4, to ReduceAgreation

The 34rFW1.4 antibody shows a propensity for pH dependent aggregation insolution. The 578rFW1.4 antibody (see International ApplicationWO2009155724), which shares the same framework structure as 34rFW1.4,does not show a propensity for aggregation. Homology models weregenerated to identify potential residues in the 34rFW1.4 that could bemodified to reduce its aggregation propensity as follows.

Variable domain sequences were used to build homology models of the34rFW1.4 antibody and the 578rFW1.4 antibody. To generate the models,BLAST algorithm-based searches were used to identify template structuresfor the light chain (VL) and heavy chain (VH) variable domain sequencesfor each antibody separately. BLOSUM80 (matrix for less divergentalignments) was used as the matrix for the alignments due to the highconservation of framework regions in antibodies. Individual templatesfor each chain (VL/VH) were selected that showed more than 70% identityto the query sequences.

The program MODELER of the Discovery Studio version 2.5.5 (DS 2.5.5)software (Accelrys, Inc., San Diego, Calif.) was used to generate 100scFv models based on the identified variable domain templates. Alignmentof the reference antibody sequences to be modelled with templatestructures were used as input data. 100 models containing allnon-hydrogen atoms were generated. The best model structures wereselected based on a PDF (Probability Density Function) physical energyscore. Relative orientation of VH and VL domain was set to match the onefrom the variable domain template structure with the highest homology toboth (VL and VH) sequences modelled. Alternate conformations in themodel were removed, termini were added, and missing side-chain atomswere added. CHARMM forcefield was applied to the scFv models andsubmitted to 2000 cycles of energy minimization using a RMS Gradient of0.01 and the Generalized Born with Molecular Volume (GBMV) as implicitsolvent model.

Protein Ionization and residue pK calculations for each of theantibodies were conducted. The calculations were done using the protocolimplementation included in Discovery Studio version 2.5.5 (DS 2.5.5),based on the theory developed by Bashford and Karplus, 1991. The resultsof protein ionization and residue pK calculations were compared for thetwo molecules in terms of pK₁₁₂ of the side chains and titration curvesof each titratable residue, including Asp, Glu, Arg, Lys, His, Tyr, Cys,the N-terminal and C terminal residues of the antibodies.

CHARMM forcefield was applied to the scFv models and protonated at pH7.4, titration curves and pKs of the individual residues were calculatedfrom pH 2 to pH 14 range using pH steps of 0.2. Two conserved Lysresidues at positions 47 and 50 in the light chain of the 578rFW1.4antibody differed compared with the Lys at those positions in the34rFW1.4 (see FIG. 1).

Introduction of Preferred Substitutions

The Discovery Studio software was used to conduct molecular dynamicssimulations to predict mutations that improve the interaction affinitybetween VL and VH, thereby preventing the domains from falling apart andforming oligomers and or higher order aggregates. The stability of theVL/VH interface of the 34rFW1.4 antibody was estimated as energy termsas free energy G. A CHARMM protocol adaptation (also included in DS2.5.5) was used to calculate the energy difference between the entirescFv heterodimer complex and the sum of the energies of each of theindividual variable domains. The calculations were done in the contextof an implicit solvent method using the Generalized Born with MolecularVolume integration (GBMV). The energies of both domains and the complexwere calculated, and the output was determined as the difference inenergy between the complex and the sum of the individual domainsaccording to the following calculation: G interface=G(a)−G(b)−G(c),where G(a) is the energy of the antibody, G(b) is the energy of the VL,and G(c) is the energy of the VH.

Arginine (R) was selected as a possible residue substitution for thelysine (K) at positions 47 and 50, because the sidechain pKa value for R(12.5) is higher than pKa of K (10.5). Mutants K47R and K5OR weregenerated by replacing K for R individually at the respective positions.2000 cycles of energy minimization were performed for residues 10Angstroms or closer to the area around the mutation to allow the newmodel molecules to adapt to the change. The implicit solvent model forthese energy minimization rounds was GBMV. Predicted average delta G forthe mutants was −94 kcal/mol. Therefore contribution of the mutationswas estimated to be 4 kcal/mol compared to the parental anti-TNF scFvantibody.

EXAMPLE 2 Stability Analysis of the Optimized 34rFW1.4 Antibody

K5OR mutant and K47R mutant were generated in the 34rFW1.4 antibody(which is disclosed in co-pending International Application No.PCT/CH2009/000219, filed Jun. 25, 2009, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety). Another mutant of 34rFW1.4having additional substitutions to reduce its immunogenicity in vivo wasprepared according to the methods described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/973,968. In particular, the third mutant, designated34rFW1.4_VLK5OR_DHP, contained a serine (S) at heavy chain position 12(AHo numbering), a threonine (T) at heavy chain position 103 (AHonumbering), and a threonine (T) at heavy chain position 144 (AHonumbering). Stability studies of the parent and mutant 34rFW1.4antibodies were conducted under accelerated conditions as follows.

The 34rFW1.4 antibody, mutant 34rFW1.4_VL_K50R, and 34rFW1.4_VLK50R_DHPwere concentrated up to 20, 40 and 60 mg/mL in phosphate buffered saline(50 mM Na2HPO4, 150 mM NaCl, pH 6.5) formulation and incubated 2 weeksat 40° C. The 34rFW1.4 and 34rFW1.4_K47R antibodies were concentrated upto 20 and 60 mg/mL in phosphate buffered saline (50 mM Na2HPO4, 150 mMNaCl, pH 6.5) formulation and incubated 2 weeks at 40° C. Samples wereanalyzed before and after 14 days incubation for degradation using 12.5%sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE)under reducing and non-reducing conditions. Size-exclusionhigh-performance liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC) was used to determinemonomer content and soluble aggregates of the samples before and afterthe incubation period. Monomers were resolved from non-monomeric specieson a TSKgel Super SW2000 column (TOSOH Bioscience) and the percentage ofmonomeric protein was calculated as the area of the monomer peak dividedby the total area of all product peaks. The results of the studies for34rFW1.4 and 34rFW1.4_VLK50R_DHP are shown in FIGS. 2A-B, 3A-B, and4A-B, respectively. The results for 34rFW1.4_VL_K50R are shown in FIGS.5B, 6B, and 7B. These experiments demonstrated that 34rFW1.4_VLK50R_DHPhad a reduced propensitiy for aggregation compared with 34rFW1.4. Themutant 34rFW1.4_K47R also demonstrated such a reduction as shown inFIGS. 8B and 9B.

In addition, the thermal stability and binding affinities of 34rFW1.4and 34rFW1.4_VLK50R_DHP antibodies were compared. The resultsdemonstrated that the mutations made to generate the 34rFW1.4_VLK50R_DHPantibody did not affect the stability or binding activity relative tothe parent 34rFW1.4 antibody.

Equivalents

Numerous modifications and alternative embodiments of the presentinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of theforegoing description. Accordingly, this description is to be construedas illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled inthe art the best mode for carrying out the present invention. Details ofthe structure may vary substantially without departing from the spiritof the invention, and exclusive use of all modifications that comewithin the scope of the appended claims is reserved. It is intended thatthe present invention be limited only to the extent required by theappended claims and the applicable rules of law.

All literature and similar material cited in this application,including, patents, patent applications, articles, books, treatises,dissertations, web pages, figures and/or appendices, regardless of theformat of such literature and similar materials, are expresslyincorporated by reference in their entirety. In the event that one ormore of the incorporated literature and similar materials differs fromor contradicts this application, including defined terms, term usage,described techniques, or the like, this application controls.

The section headings used herein are for organizational purposes onlyand are not to be construed as limiting the subject matter described inany way.

While the present inventions have been described in conjunction withvarious embodiments and examples, it is not intended that the presentteachings be limited to such embodiments or examples. On the contrary,the present inventions encompass various alternatives, modifications,and equivalents, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art.

The claims should not be read as limited to the described order orelements unless stated to that effect. It should be understood thatvarious changes in form and detail may be made without departing fromthe scope of the appended claims. Therefore, all embodiments that comewithin the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalentsthereto are claimed.

1. An antibody that binds specifically to human TNFα, comprising: a. avariable light chain comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ IDNO: 14; and b. a variable heavy chain comprising the sequence of SEQ IDNO:
 5. 2. The antibody of claim 1, wherein the variable light chaincomprises the sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 2. 3. The antibody of claim 1,wherein the variable light chain comprises the sequence of SEQ ID NO:14.
 4. The antibody of claim 1, further having a linker comprising thesequence of SEQ ID NO:
 7. 5. The antibody of claim 1, wherein theantibody comprises the sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 10. 6. The antibody ofclaim 1, wherein the antibody comprises the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17.7. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a therapeutically effectiveamount of the antibody of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptablecarrier.
 8. A method of treating a TNFα-mediated disease comprisingadministering to a subject in need thereof the pharmaceuticalcomposition of claim
 7. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein theTNFα-mediated disease is an ocular disorder selected from the groupconsisting of uveitis, Bechet's disease, retinitis, dry eye, glaucoma,Sjörgen syndrome, diabetic neuropathy, scleritis, age related maculardegeneration and keratitis.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein thepharmaceutical composition is administered by ocular, intranasal, otic,sublingual, transdermal, topical, oral, nasal, rectal or parenteraladministration.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the pharmaceuticalcomposition is administered in a single or divided dose comprising 0.1to 100 mg of the antibody.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein theTNFα-mediated disease is uveitis, and the pharmaceutical composition isadministered topically to an eye of the subject.
 13. An isolated nucleicacid molecule encoding the antibody of claim
 1. 14. A vector comprisingthe nucleic acid molecule of claim
 13. 15. A host cell comprising thevector of claim
 14. 16. The antibody of claim 1, wherein the antibody isa Fab, Fab′, a F(ab)′2, single-chain Fv (scFv), an Fv fragment, or alinear antibody.
 17. A bivalent or bispecific molecule comprising theantibody of claim
 1. 18. A method for reducing an antibody's propensityfor aggregation, the method comprising introducing one or more aminoacid substitutions in the interface of a variable light chain (VL) and avariable heavy chain (VH) of the antibody, wherein the one or moresubstitutions are at residue positions selected to reduce the freeenergy between the VL and VH by at least 0.5 kcal/mol, thereby reducingthe aggregation propensity of the antibody compared with a parentalantibody.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the antibody is a Fab,Fab′, a F(ab)′2, single-chain Fv (scFv), an Fv fragment, a diabody, asingle-chain diabody, a tandem antibody or a linear antibody.
 20. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the sequence of the variable light chain ofthe antibody has at least 65% identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1.21. The method of claim 20, wherein the modification comprises asubstitution at AHo position 50 and/or AHo position 47 of the variablelight chain.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the substitution is anarginine (R) at AHo position 50 and/or an arginine (R) at AHo position47 of the variable light chain.
 23. The method of claim 22, whereinlysine (K) is substituted by arginine (R) at AHo position 47 and/or 50of the variable light chain.
 24. The method of claim 18, wherein theantibody has a variable heavy chain sequence having at least 85%identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 1. 25. The method of claim 18,wherein the antibody has a variable heavy chain sequence having at least85% identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 or the sequence of SEQ IDNO:
 4. 26. The method of claim 18, further comprising amino acidsubstitutions at AHo positions 12, 103 and 144 of the variable heavychain.
 27. An antibody produced by the method of claim 18.